Unlikely
by starzee
Summary: Set after season 2 finale: Damon and Alaric take off on a road trip to find Stefan and free him from Klaus but one thing leads to another one night and...
1. Goodbye Mystic Falls

I don't own The Vampire Diaries, I'm just a fan :)

**I know I shouldn't start another story while I'm writing so many others but I just had this idea and it wouldn't go away then suddenly I had over 3000 words so I had to post it :)**

* * *

><p>Unlikely<p>

Chapter 1:

_(Set after the Season 2 finale)_

* * *

><p>Damon watched the horror cross Elena's face as she realised that Damon was going to survive. He knew that look. She regretted kissing him. She regretted that Katherine of all people caught them and told her it was okay. She regretted that Stefan had to give her up to save Damon's life. For a moment, Damon swore that her features showed that she regretted that he survived. He knew in that moment that although she'd made it obvious for months that she felt something for him, he knew that it would never be him, she would never pick him, she would never want him... She would never love him.<p>

He made a decision there and then. He would stop beating a dead horse. There was no point to the charade anymore. He was officially bowing out. He would go after his brother and convince Klaus to take him instead. Damon put two and two together and figured Klaus would want Ripper Stefan. He could do that for Klaus, he could be worse than Stefan so Klaus would want him instead. Then Stefan could have his happily ever after with Elena.

Damon was taken away from his thoughts by Elena saying his name. He shook himself out of his daze and looked up at her.

"Sorry, what did you say?" He asked curiously and she shot him a look of annoyance for not listening to her.

"I said we need to find a way to get Stefan back." She said urgently and he nodded.

"I've already got a plan building in my head." Damon nodded.

"That can't be good." She muttered and he sighed.

"Yes, because your plan to trust Elijah was so effective." He retorted and she looked at him surprised by his attitude towards her.

"You don't have to snap at me." She said quietly.

"Elena, for once, can you just do something for me?" Damon asked her as kindly as he could muster. She gave him a sceptical look.

"What?" She asked.

"Can you please go home? I need a shower and blood and booze and sleep and I don't need you here making me feel guiltier than I already do." He said to her and her jaw dropped.

"I'm not trying to make you feel guilty." She said confused. "Stefan chose to do this for you, you didn't force him." She said and although Damon thought his brother was stupid for getting the cure for him, she was right. It wasn't his fault.

"Whatever. Please, go home." He said to her and she reluctantly nodded then left his room. He got his phone out of his pocket and dialled the number of the only other person he cared about in Mystic Falls.

"_Damon?_" The quiet voice asked with bated breath.

"It's me, Ric." Damon replied and he heard a sigh of relief.

"_Are you okay?_" Ric asked and Damon smirked.

"My white night brother got me the cure so I'm still alive... so to speak." He said and Ric chuckled. "Can you come over for a drink?" Damon asked and Ric was surprised.

"_Yeah, sure. I'll be there in fifteen minutes._" Ric replied.

"See you then." Damon replied then hung up. He had a quick shower and got dressed in clean clothes then went down stairs and downed a lot of blood. He needed it badly. When Alaric finally arrived at the house, Damon was already seated in the library and he'd poured two glasses of bourbon. Alaric walked right in and took a seat next to Damon and was handed a glass.

"Thanks." Ric said then took a sip.

"So, as mushy as this sounds, I asked you over to say goodbye." Damon said and Ric's eyes widened.

"What? Where are you going?" Ric asked confused.

"Stefan traded himself for Klaus' blood which turns out to be the cure for a wolf bite." Damon replied and Ric's jaw dropped.

"So Stefan's like... Working for Klaus?" Ric asked.

"I don't know exactly what the deal was but I'm guessing that Klaus wanted a hunting buddy." Damon sighed. "But it would be Ripper Stefan... Not white knight bunny killer Stefan." Damon replied. "I'd rather you didn't repeat that to Elena though." Damon said softly.

"What are you going to do?" Ric asked sceptically. Damon wasn't known for his good decisions.

"I'm going to leave, track down Stefan, show Klaus that I can be worse than Ripper Stefan and take his place." Damon confessed.

"Why?" Ric gasped.

"Because he's my brother... and despite everything... I still love him." Damon replied softly.

"What if Klaus says no?" Ric asked worriedly.

"Then he'll probably kill me." Damon replied honestly and Ric was shocked by just how okay that was to Damon. He seemed fine with either outcome.

"I think you should make that plan B." Ric said and Damon eyed him curiously.

"Oh really? Then what would plan A be?" Damon asked amused.

"I'll come with you." Ric said and Damon looked confused.

"What exactly would that accomplish?" Damon asked amused.

"Well, I received a mysterious package today and when I opened it, it turned out to be Isobel's journals from when she was a vampire." Ric said and Damon looked mildly interested. "I started to read them out of curiosity and an old friend of mine is mentioned in it. I didn't know at the time but according to Isobel, he's a shaman but he hates vampires and refuses to work for them. He might be able to help us. Isobel was trying to take Elena there so that the shaman could poison her blood so that when Klaus drained her for the ritual, he would die." Ric explained and Damon looked very interested.

"I'm guessing Katherine had something to do with bringing you the package." Damon said dryly.

"Probably. So what do you think?" Ric asked with a smile. "You up for a road trip? Then possibly a mission to kill the oldest vampire in the world?" Ric grinned and Damon chuckled.

"It's worth a try." Damon smirked.

"She talks about you in her journals, you know." Ric said softly and Damon looked surprised.

"I highly doubt it's anything good." Damon muttered.

"You'd be surprised. She speaks of you very fondly. She said that she couldn't have imagined having a better sire and that you helped her so much until the day Katherine forced her to leave." Ric said and Damon's jaw dropped.

"I did always wonder why she just up and left." Damon nodded. "I trained her for nearly half a year then one day she was just gone... I looked for her but didn't find her." Damon confessed. "Any vampires I made over the years I always kept with me for at least a year before letting them take off alone." Damon explained. "Young vampires often end up dead or rippers if they aren't trained properly. A few stayed with me for longer by choice though." Damon said as he thought of his vampires fondly.

"How many did you make?" Ric asked curiously. He noticed Damon had never gone into so much detail about this before and was interested to ask questions before Damon just closed up again.

"Not including Caroline and Vicki, I made eight." Damon replied. "Six of them are still alive." Damon said sadly.

"Did you care about Isobel?" Ric asked softly and Damon chuckled.

"I did, actually." Damon admitted. "I was quite sad when she left. She was majorly corrupted by Katherine though. The way she was when you saw her again wasn't what she was like when I was training her."

"You never told me this before." Ric said.

"You never asked." Damon countered. "If I'd known that I'd end up with you as my friend in the future, I wouldn't have turned her." Damon confessed and Ric was surprised to hear Damon admit that they were friends but didn't comment on it as he didn't want Damon to close up again.

"If you hadn't turned her we wouldn't have ended up friends." Ric countered and Damon chuckled.

"True." Damon nodded. "I guess she would have found someone to turn her anyway. She could have ended up with a sire that was bad to her." Damon conceded.

"If I ever wanted to turn, would you do it?" Ric asked and Damon's jaw dropped.

"You've considered it?" Damon asked shocked.

"Obviously. I'm surrounded by vampires. I think everyone's considered it at least once." Ric shrugged.

"Well, if you really wanted to, yes, I would." Damon nodded.

"What did you mean about the training year?" Ric asked curiously.

"Before I turn anyone, the deal is that I teach them how to hunt, feed, control cravings, fend for themselves, fight and basically everything I know including compulsion, then after a year if they want to go, they go." Damon shrugged. "It's good too because if you're a good sire, your vampires are usually very loyal and will help you if you need it. Just like I would help them if they needed it." Damon explained.

"What's the longest someone you turned stayed with you?" Ric asked fascinated.

"Jonas. 24 years and two months." Damon replied.

"Wow, that's a long time." Ric said surprised.

"It would have been longer but he was killed." Damon explained. "He was a good friend." Damon nodded. "He was the first vampire I turned."

"How did he die?" Ric asked quietly.

"Stefan killed him." Damon replied and Ric blinked in surprise.

"Why?" He asked.

"Jonas and I were out feeding and Stefan was going through his 'don't kill humans' phase again. We were both following him around and annoying him and Stefan found Jonas in an alley feeding and snuck up behind him and staked him. Stefan didn't know that neither of us were actually killing people at the time." Damon replied. "You would have liked Jonas. You're actually quite similar, come to think of it." Damon said.

"Is that why you killed Lexi?" Ric asked.

"I suppose that was part of it." Damon nodded. "You're asking a lot of questions." Damon smirked and Ric chuckled.

"You don't usually talk about yourself like this; it's nice to get to know you a bit better." Ric shrugged and Damon chuckled.

"Well, as long as you keep what I tell you to yourself, I might let you ask me more questions some time." Damon replied.

"I would never repeat anything you tell me." Ric said sincerely and Damon believed him and nodded.

"What's the plan then? I want to leave tomorrow." Damon said.

"Will we come back?" Ric asked and Damon frowned.

"I'm not coming back." Damon admitted. "But you can come back after we've been to see this shaman guy if you want to." Damon shrugged.

"There's nothing here for me." Ric said and Damon nodded. He understood that too.

"But, I have to tell you how road trips with me go." Damon smirked. "I'm a big believer in living each day as if it's your last so I don't drive for more than about five or six hours in a row." Damon admitted with a grin and Ric chuckled.

"Let me guess, drive for six hours, stop in a bar, get hammered, pass out in a hotel either by yourself or with someone else then leave the next day around lunch time?" Ric asked and Damon smirked.

"Can you accept that, Mr Teacher?" Damon asked amused and Ric chuckled.

"Sure, sounds fun." Ric nodded with a smile.

* * *

><p>The following morning, Damon packed the few belongings that he took with him wherever he went, some clothes, CDs for the car and a cooler full of blood to do him for at least a week in case he couldn't feed fresh or raid a blood bank. He packed everything into the trunk of his car, leaving the backseat free for Alaric's stuff and the bottles of booze he was going to go buy before he picked him up. He only had one other thing to do before he left – Go see Caroline Forbes. He got out his phone and called her.<p>

"_Hey! Are you okay?_" She answered and he smirked. He noticed she'd called and texted to find out if he was okay and was actually touched that she gave a crap about him.

"I'm fine, Barbie. Thanks for calling to check on me last night. I was asleep." He lied.

"_I'm so glad you're okay, Damon!_" She exclaimed and he smiled. Maybe he gave a crap about her too.

"You busy?" He asked her.

"_Why? What's up?_" She asked him.

"I wanted to talk to you for a couple of minutes if you're not busy." He said to her.

"_Oh, sure. Where?_" She asked.

"Can you meet me at the Mystic Falls sign in twenty minutes?" He asked her.

"_Of course. I'll see you there._"

"See you there." He smiled and hung up. He took one last look at the boarding house, knowing it would most likely be a long time before he was here again, if he ever even bothered coming back again then jumped into his car and drove to the liquor store. He removed all traces of him and Stefan being vampires from the house the previous night so that if the Sheriff broke in, she wouldn't find anything. He bought bottles and bottles and bottles of different spirits and stuck them on the floor of the back seat then drove over to the Gilbert house. He was picking Ric up there. He pulled up outside of the house but didn't honk or make a sound as he and Ric had decided against telling anyone they were leaving. He was going to send a text message to Elena and he typed it up while he waited for Ric.

_Elena, I'm leaving Mystic Falls and I just wanted you to know that I'm going to find Stefan and do my damndest to get him back for you. If I fail, I'm sorry in advance. I will get him back or die trying. I promise. This is probably the last time you'll ever hear from me and after I send this message, I'm going to disconnect the number. Not that you would, but please don't try to find me or contact me. It's time for me to move on with my life and I'm sorry for everything I did to hurt you. Take care of yourself and I hope you have the life you dream of. Damon_

Damon read over his _long_ text message then he noticed Ric coming out of the house quietly. He shuffled down to the car and tossed his bags into the backseat then jumped in the car.

"Let's go." Ric smirked and Damon chuckled. He pressed send on the message then Ric watched curiously as Damon took out the sim card from the phone and destroyed it. "What are you doing?" Ric asked curiously.

"I don't want to be contacted." Damon replied and Ric nodded in understanding. Damon drove away after taking one last look at the house and only stopped when he got to the Mystic Falls sign. Ric saw Damon pull another sim card out from his pocket and put it in his phone.

"You should give me that number." Ric pointed and Damon smirked.

"I will." Damon said then Caroline appeared. Damon got out of the car and walked over to her.

"Are you leaving?" Caroline asked in disbelief.

"I'm going after Stefan. He traded himself for the wolf bite cure. I'll get him back." Damon nodded to her.

"Please be careful." She said to him with those big innocent eyes of hers.

"I'll try." He smirked.

"When are you going to come back?" She asked him and he smiled at her softly.

"I'm not." He said and her eyes widened then he saw them water. He was shocked that she cared that much and was even more shocked when she hugged him tightly.

"Don't leave." She whispered then he hugged her back just as tightly.

"I have to, Care." He said as he stroked her hair softly. "I can't just let Stefan do this." Damon explained. "He doesn't deserve it. I'll trade places with him if I can't find a way to kill Klaus." He explained and she started to cry so he held her tighter.

"You called me, Care." She whispered and he smirked.

"I'm attempting to leave you with a fond memory of me instead of all the other ones." He said to her. "I'm sorry for hurting you, Caroline. I wish I'd taken the time to get to know you when I met you." He said only slightly louder than a whisper.

"It's okay." She replied. "I'll forgive you as long as you leave as my friend." She said and he chuckled.

"You want me to say it out loud?" He asked her amused as she sobbed into his shoulder.

"Yes." She said.

"Thank you for being my friend, Caroline." He said to her genuinely and she grinned into his neck.

"Will I see you again?" She asked and he squeezed her lightly.

"You can see me whenever you want to." He promised. "You are my vampire after all." He grinned. "I'll give you my emergency number if you swear not to give it to anyone else." He said.

"I swear." She promised.

"Good. Then when you realise you are far too hot for this awful town and leave, call me and I'll meet you. We can party it up or something." He chuckled and she smiled widely then pulled away to look at him. He wiped away her tears and gave her a genuine smile.

"I'll call you soon." She smiled as she knew she would most likely have to leave Mystic Falls soon too.

"Good." He smirked. "Phone." He said to her and she handed over her phone to him. He typed in his number then saved it. "I saved it as 'Jagger'." He chuckled and she laughed.

"I'll remember." She nodded.

"Be careful around, Lockwood. I'd rather you didn't have anything to do with him but you don't exactly listen to me anyway. If you have any problems, vampire or otherwise, you can call me. I might bitch at you if I'm busy but I will be happy to hear from you underneath it all." He winked and she laughed. She cupped his cheek then kissed him on the lips softly.

"I'll miss you." She said. "And before you run off and get yourself killed, remember that I care about you and I'd be distraught if anything happened to you." She added and he looked startled. "Bye, Damon." She smiled, kissed him again, waved at Alaric then she was gone. Damon was stunned by his whole conversation with her and stood for a moment staring at the Mystic Falls sign while he collected himself. He felt kind of emotional because of what she said and that would just not do. A few minutes later he got back in the car and started to drive.

"You alright?" Ric asked him.

"It seems that I made more than just one friend here." Damon smiled softly. "Can't believe I'm actually going to miss Vampire Barbie." He chuckled and Ric grinned at him.

"Damon actually likes someone and admits to it. Alert the media." Ric said and Damon rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. Where does this Shaman live anyway?" Damon asked and Ric chuckled.

"Uh... Neah Bay." Ric replied and Damon gaped at him.

"In Washington State!" Damon exclaimed.

"Yeah." Ric nodded and Damon rolled his eyes.

"That's like 3000 miles away!" Damon yelled and Ric chuckled.

"Are you in that much of a hurry to see Klaus again?" Ric asked amused and Damon was about to make some sarcastic remark when he closed his mouth. He really didn't want to see Klaus again if he were honest...

"You may have a point." Damon conceded. "Want to go the scenic route?" Damon smirked and Ric chuckled.

"I've never travelled across the states in a car before." Ric smiled.

"What? How is that possible?" Damon asked in disbelief.

"Remember I was married in college." Ric pointed out and Damon sighed.

"Well, we have to go the scenic route now. Let's see... Where first?" Damon asked curiously. "I know." He grinned. "First stop, Jacksonville, North Carolina."

* * *

><p>This will probably end up being another loooong story lol<p> 


	2. Jacksonville, NC

I don't own The Vampire Diaries, I'm just a fan :)

* * *

><p>Unlikely<p>

Chapter 2

* * *

><p>They'd left Mystic Falls about 10am and at 12.30pm Damon heard Alaric's stomach growl and he chuckled a little. He pulled off at the next diner and stopped.<p>

"Why are we stopping?" Ric asked confused and Damon smirked at him.

"You're stomach was yelling at me to stop." Damon teased and Ric laughed.

"I kind of forgot to eat breakfast." Ric conceded.

"Let's go get diner food for lunch then." Damon shrugged and got out of the car. He put the top up on the car so that nobody would steal any of their stuff. Not that he couldn't catch them if they did but it was better to just do it anyway. Damon walked in behind Ric and they soon found a table. A nice waitress handed them menus and ogled Damon a bit then Ric ordered a bacon sandwich and fries and Damon ordered the full breakfast which was an enormous plate of food.

"Do you get any nutrients from that?" Ric asked curiously half way through their food and Damon smirked.

"No, I actually need more blood than usual to digest it." Damon chuckled. "I like human food though." He pointed out.

"What's your favourite meal?" Ric asked curiously and Damon smirked at him.

"Soccer mom." He replied and Ric laughed loudly as he'd totally walked into that one.

"You know what I mean." Ric smiled and Damon chuckled.

"I've tried too many foods from all over the world to really have a favourite." Damon said. "I like Italian obviously since I was brought up with it. Not like pizza and pasta but the food that the real Italians eat." He admitted. "What's yours?" Damon asked curiously.

"Either salmon teriyaki or grilled eggplant with garlic sauce." Ric said and Damon chuckled.

"I'm so glad you said something that actually sounds interesting to try instead of something boring like mac'n'cheese." Damon smirked and Ric laughed.

"I lived on mac'n'cheese in my first year at college. If I never have to see that stuff again it'll be too soon." Ric grimaced and Damon laughed.

"What was your specialism for your history degree?" Damon asked curiously and Ric was surprised that Damon had actually asked him a personal question.

"The civil war." Ric replied and Damon blinked in surprise.

"Is that so?" Damon smirked.

"Yeah, why?" Ric asked.

"I fought in it." Damon said and Ric's jaw dropped.

"No way." Ric said in awe and Damon chuckled.

"Way." Damon smirked.

"I don't know why I never made that connection before." Ric mumbled.

"It sucked." Damon sighed. "You actually had people come and watch in fancy dresses and stuff." Damon rolled his eyes at the stupidity of it all.

"How didn't I know about this before?" Ric asked in disbelief and Damon grinned.

"Tell you what? I'll let you ask all the questions you want about it, but not today, okay? Wait until I'm in a really good mood." Damon chuckled.

"You let me know if that ever happens." Ric smirked and Damon laughed.

"You'll see... The further away from Mystic Falls I get, the better my mood will be." Damon winked.

* * *

><p>Caroline sped over to the Gilbert house after an emergency text from Elena. Her eyes were still red and puffy from all the crying she'd been doing over Damon leaving. She appeared at the door and knocked and Elena opened. Her eyes just as teary.<p>

"Damon's gone." Elena said and Caroline nodded.

"I know." She said and Elena looked surprised.

"Did he call you and tell you?" Elena asked and Caroline shook his head.

"I met him at the Mystic Falls sign as he was leaving. He asked me to come to say goodbye." Caroline explained as she walked in and Elena yanked her around to face her.

"You actually let him leave?" Elena asked in disbelief.

"He and Ric know what they're doing." Caroline nodded and Elena gaped.

"Ric left with him?" She exclaimed and Caroline sighed.

"Yeah." Caroline nodded.

"All I got was a text message then when I tried to call him the number was disconnected." Elena said and Caroline understood what Damon meant now when he asked her not to share his emergency number with anyone.

"Oh." Was all Caroline said.

"Did he give you a way to contact him?" Elena asked with narrowed eyes.

"He's my sire." Caroline said as she racked her brain for something to tell Elena. She was the only vampire left in Mystic Falls so there weren't any vampires Elena could check with.

"So he left you a way to contact him?" Elena asked.

"Yes. I always will have a way." Caroline replied.

"Well, tell me, please." Elena said impatiently and Caroline shook her head.

"I can't." She lied.

"What do you mean you can't?" Elena asked affronted.

"Damon gave me a direct order not to tell anyone and I can't break it." Caroline replied thinking of True Blood and the commands.

"Why?" Elena asked confused.

"Sires hardly ever use the power they have over their vampires but a direct order can't physically be broken. Even if I really really wanted to tell you, I can't." Caroline lied and Elena sighed.

"Is there a loophole?" Elena asked.

"I thought of that already, but he was very thorough." Caroline said.

"Has he ever commanded you before?" Elena asked sceptically. How hadn't she ever heard of this?

"Damon said that commands are never to be made lightly and he's hardly ever had to do it before. That was my first one." Caroline lied again. She was going to have to remember this for when Elena asked again.

"I have to find him, Caroline." Elena said unevenly.

"Elena, please don't take this the wrong way... Damon isn't lost. He doesn't want you to find him." Caroline said softly as she knew Damon well enough to know that.

"Why are you allowed contact with him and I'm not?" Elena asked in disbelief.

"I'm his vampire." Caroline replied and Elena looked confused. "It was his blood that turned me, which makes me his." Caroline explained.

"Are you going to talk to him soon?" Elena asked. Caroline was getting annoyed with her questions so she decided just to not answer the question and pretend that she couldn't. "You can't tell me?" Elena asked and Caroline just stared at her.

"Elena, I'm going to be frank with you. If I really do live forever, it means I'll have Damon in my life forever. That's just the way it is with vampires. Damon left here to track down Stefan and take his place with Klaus so that Stefan could come back to you. Why can't you just leave him alone? Why do you keep torturing him when you know how he feels about you? Why can't you just let him go?" Caroline asked verging on becoming furious. Elena was stunned at Caroline's loyalty to Damon and the words that she said.

"I don't think that's fair, Caroline. Damon's my friend." Elena countered and Caroline laughed.

"No, he's not." Caroline said and Elena's eyes widened. "If you cared about him, if you actually saw him as your friend, you wouldn't use him the way you do. You wouldn't act flirty with him to get him to do what you want him to do then reject him constantly the way you do." Caroline said fiercely. "You wouldn't make him feel like he's nothing." Caroline said and Elena's jaw dropped.

"I don't..." Elena started then Caroline silenced her with her hand.

"I don't want to hear it. Don't ask me to contact Damon for you because I won't. I'm going to speak to Bonnie and make sure she knows not to do a locator spell on him for you. Leave him alone, Elena." Caroline snapped then sped out of the house over to Bonnie's.

* * *

><p>Damon and Alaric were driving again when Alaric's phone rang and it was Elena. Damon rolled his eyes at his friend but Alaric answered.<p>

"Hi, Elena." Alaric said and he could hear her sobbing.

"_Hi, Ric. Can you ask Damon to call me please?_" She asked. Ric looked over to Damon and Damon shook his head no.

"He won't, Elena." Ric said softly and she sobbed louder.

"_Can you just tell him that I'm so sorry for everything? I never meant to hurt him. I would never intentionally hurt him._" She said a little hysterically and Ric looked to Damon for a reply but Damon just shook his head again.

"I'll tell him." Ric said.

"_Also, I know he ordered Caroline as her sire not to give anyone a way to contact him, but could you ask him to think about it?_" She said and Damon looked at Ric confused but slightly amused.

"Uh... yeah. Sure." Ric said as he had no idea what she was talking about.

"_Thanks. Take care._" She said.

"You too, Elena." Ric said then hung up and Damon sighed.

"What the hell was she talking about?" Damon asked and Ric shrugged. Damon dug out his phone and dialled Caroline's number.

"_Hey!_" She answered happily and Damon smirked.

"So apparently I gave you an order as your sire, care to explain?" He asked and she laughed.

"_I just told Elena that so she would stop bugging me._" Caroline said and Damon chuckled.

"Did you get that from True Blood?" Damon asked amused and she giggled.

"_Yeah. It was the only thing I could think of on the spot._" She replied.

"You know that doesn't actually work, right?" Damon asked her.

"_Obviously, but Elena doesn't know that. I told her that it's hardly ever used and you've never had to do it with me before. She believed me though so that's all that matters._" Caroline said and Damon laughed.

"Did you say anything else to her? She called Ric in tears." Damon said sceptically and Caroline sighed in annoyance.

"_I told her to leave you alone and stop trying to string you along because it isn't fair._" Caroline said honestly and Damon's jaw dropped.

"You didn't need to do that, but thank you anyway." Damon said sincerely. He was shocked that she was looking out for him like that.

"_You admitted to being my friend. I'm protective of my friends and especially you considering I only have one sire and it's you._" She said and he smiled.

"Well, I'm proud to have you as my progeny." Damon replied and she giggled. "I have your back too, remember that." He said to her.

"_I knew that already. But at least now you know that I have yours._" She said and he chuckled.

"Good to know, Barbie." He smirked.

"_I better go, I have to go find Bonnie._" She said and Damon looked confused.

"Why do you have to find Judgy?" Damon asked curiously.

"_So Elena doesn't get her to do a locator spell on you and follow you._" Caroline sighed and Damon looked stunned.

"What the hell does she want from me?" Damon asked annoyed.

"_Want me to go find out and call you back?_" She asked.

"I'd appreciate if you could talk Bonnie into not doing a locator spell, actually. You could find out what Elena wants the next time you see her. No rush." Damon shrugged.

"_I don't mind, I'm not busy today. I'll call you later and tell you what happened with Bonnie and Elena._" She said and before Damon could argue she'd hung up on him and he chuckled.

"She's going to call me like every day now." Damon smirked and Ric laughed.

"It's nice of her to do that for you though." Ric pointed out.

"It is." Damon nodded. "I'll send her a present or something." Damon shrugged.

"You like her really." Ric pointed out and Damon laughed.

"I suppose I do." Damon nodded. "How I ever inspired such loyalty from her, I'll never know." Damon shook his head.

"Maybe it's the sire thing." Ric shrugged. "Did you train her at all?" He asked.

"Secretly." Damon nodded. "Stefan tried to put her on the bunny diet but I talked her into blood bags and she did really well. After she was kidnapped by the wolves I taught her to fight a bit, though she already knew some self defence moves." Damon shrugged. "I taught her to feed fresh too but nobody else knows that. It's just common sense that she knows how to do it so that if she ever can't get a blood bag, she won't kill the human unless she wants to." Damon explained.

"Why would she want to?" Ric asked confused and Damon smirked.

"You get stronger when you feed and kill." Damon replied. "An older vampire tried to explain it to me once but I was drunk and not particularly interested so I missed half of what he said. Something about the last drops containing the most life force or something." Damon rolled his eyes and Ric chuckled.

"At least you're honest." Ric smirked.

* * *

><p>They arrived into Jacksonville at around 3.30pm and Damon took Ric around the historical sites because he figured they had some time to kill and if he was going to be spending the foreseeable future with Ric, it would benefit him to keep Ric happy. At about dinner time, they found a bar they wanted to go to and checked into the hotel next door to it. They got adjoining rooms for safety reasons, got something quickly to eat – Ric had a burger and Damon had a bag of blood – then the two of them went to the bar. They weren't there long when Damon got a phone call from Caroline. He stepped outside to answer the call.<p>

"Yes, sweetheart?" Damon mocked considering he'd spoken to her more times in one day than he thought was entirely normal.

"_Hey, I have an update on the situation, just thought I'd fill you in._" She said in a bubbly tone and Damon found it difficult to tell her off for calling him when she was being so nice.

"And?" He asked.

"_Bonnie promised not to look for you._" Caroline said and Damon was surprised.

"How?" He asked curiously.

"_Well... I kind of told her that if she didn't look for you for Elena, she'd never have to see you again._" Caroline said nervously and Damon chuckled. He was quite looking forward to an eternity without the little witch.

"I really hope I don't ever see her again, to be honest. Good work, I'm very happy with you." Damon said as Ric had told him earlier to try to be nicer to Caroline.

"_Thanks! It was no trouble._" She said happily and Damon smirked. "_I went back to see Elena and she finally admitted that she wanted to talk to you so she could convince you to come back to Mystic Falls and let her come with you to look for Stefan._" She said and Damon rolled his eyes.

"Not interested." Damon said bluntly.

"_I told her that... in more words._" She said and he laughed. He could just imagine the bubbly blonde gave some kind of long lecture to Elena.

"How long are you going to be staying in Mystic Falls?" Damon asked curiously. It might be alright having her around... Maybe.

"_Probably until the end of the summer. It'll look weird if everyone else goes off to college and I'm just shopping in Mystic Falls and not getting older._" She said and he rolled his eyes but kept smiling.

"What else did you do today?" Damon asked and he could tell that Caroline was surprised that he was showing any interest in her life at all.

"_Just hung out with Bonnie for a bit, had a talk with my mom and checked on Tyler's gunshot wound._" She replied.

"What gunshot wound?" Damon asked confused.

"_Matt shot him on the night of the full moon._" Caroline admitted.

"Did you know he also shot Klaus' witch?" Damon asked.

"_I'm kind of worried about him but my mom's been feeding him vervain so I can't compel him to forget._" Caroline said worriedly.

"Kidnap him and lock him in the cell in the boarding house like we did with your mother." Damon suggested.

"_I thought about it._" Caroline said.

"Listen, Barbie. If you are going to do that, get Bonnie or Lockwood, if you have to, to help you. I'm not convinced that Mutt wouldn't try to kill you." Damon said a little concerned.

"_I'll talk to Bonnie and see what she says._" Caroline replied.

"How's your mother being with you?" Damon asked.

"_Weird. She's majorly pissed that you left, by the way._" Caroline said.

"I actually like your mother. Despite her several attempts to kill me." Damon conceded.

"_She wants to talk to you about the council apparently._" Caroline told him.

"I'll call her tomorrow." Damon promised.

"_Thanks, she'll really appreciate that._" Caroline said.

"It's cool." Damon shrugged. "I'll talk to you later. Thanks for letting me know." He said.

"_You're welcome. I'll call you another time and check up on you. Make sure you're still alive-ish._" She said and he laughed.

"Fine, have a good night, Blondie." Damon smirked.

"_You too! Bye!_" She said then hung up. Damon chuckled a little at the baby vamp then went back into the bar. They'd only been at the bar for like an hour and when he went back in he spotted a girl sitting next to Ric, talking to him and Damon smirked. He went back over to his seat but Ric didn't notice his arrival. Damon could hear both of them heavily flirting with each other and Damon tried not to laugh. Damon was drinking doubles whereas Ric was drinking singles and they matched each other drink for drink so a few hours later, they were both pretty hammered. Ric ended up going back to his room with the girl he'd been talking to and Damon found his own girl for the night.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Damon's redhead was fast asleep in bed next to him. He got up, got dressed then snuck into Ric's room and nudged him.<p>

"Let's go." Damon nodded to the door and Ric held his head from the pain.

"Hangover." Ric groaned and Damon chuckled.

"Do you want some blood? It'll take it away." Damon sing-songed and Ric thought about it then nodded. Damon bit into his wrist then offered it to Ric who drank it down reluctantly. Ric managed to dress himself, get his stuff and slip out behind Damon, without waking up the girl from the previous night. He felt kind of badly for ditching her but he couldn't remember her name and that would just be awkward. By the time he sat down in the car, he could feel his headache clearing.

"Jeez... If you bottled that stuff, you'd make a fortune." Ric muttered and Damon laughed.

"Can you imagine how many people would turn themselves if that were possible?" Damon smirked.

"You could just not say what it is on the bottle." Ric shrugged and Damon chuckled.

"If I'm ever in financial need I'll remember that." Damon said amused and Ric laughed.

"I can't believe I feel completely back to normal." Ric said surprised.

"Do you think I'd drink as much as I do if I got hangovers all the time?" Damon asked and Ric smirked.

"Yeah, I think you would." Ric said and Damon chuckled.

"You're probably right." Damon nodded.

"Where to next?" Ric asked.

"Charleston, South Carolina." Damon said.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: **I have no idea if Ric knew about Damon being in the Civil War but in this story, he didn't._


	3. Charleston, SC

I don't own The Vampire Diaries, I'm just a fan :)

* * *

><p>Unlikely<p>

Chapter 3

* * *

><p>They had been driving for three hours and were nearly in Charleston. Damon agreed to let Ric ask him two questions about the Civil War every day. Ric didn't want to waste his questions so he thought it over for a little while before asking. Ric was pleased when Damon gave him full and detailed answers instead of only a yes or a no.<p>

"Hmm." Ric said after Damon finished answering the second question.

"Hmm?" Damon asked amused.

"Can I ask you a question unrelated to the Civil War?" Ric asked curiously and Damon chuckled.

"You can ask. Doesn't mean I'll answer." Damon smirked at him.

"How many people have you killed?" Ric asked curiously and Damon chuckled. He knew that Ric would ask him that at some point. Humans always wanted to know stuff like that.

"Why?" Damon asked amused.

"Curiosity." Alaric shrugged.

"I have no idea." Damon replied with a shrug.

"Hmm." Ric said then looked out the window.

"What's with the hmm?" Damon asked cocking an eyebrow and Ric shrugged.

"I just don't believe you. If you don't want to tell me then its fine." Ric smiled softly. "So what is there to do in Charleston?" Ric asked.

"Why don't you believe me?" Damon asked intrigued while ignoring his question.

"Never mind, I shouldn't have asked you that." Ric said.

"Why did you ask me that?" Damon asked.

"Just because of what you said about trading yourself for Stefan." Ric admitted.

"You mean because I said I could be worse than a ripper?" Damon asked and Ric nodded. "I'd do it for Stefan." Damon said.

"Why?" Ric asked softly.

"Stefan doesn't deserve to have to be that again. He managed to build a life for himself and he really should have just let me die." Damon replied. "So, he saved my life and this way, hopefully I can give him back his."

"Were you a ripper?" Ric asked and Damon chuckled.

"No, never. I've never killed someone because I couldn't stop." Damon replied. "Not even as a just turned vampire."

"Then how will you be able to be worse than a ripper?" Ric asked.

"Because I have nothing left to lose, nor do I have anything left to gain. But maybe, if the Shaman plan doesn't work, maybe I can give my brother another chance at seeking the redemption he wants so much." Damon shrugged.

"But what about you? If you trade places with Stefan, it would only mean that you would have to kill instead." Ric pointed out.

"And?" Damon asked.

"That doesn't bother you at all?" Ric asked in disbelief and Damon shrugged.

"I'm too far gone for all of that, Ric. If I have to kill someone, I will." Damon replied.

"What do you like about it?" Ric asked and Damon furrowed his brow.

"What do I like about what?" Damon asked confused.

"The kill." Ric said like it was obvious and Damon gave him a sceptical look.

"Ric? Why are you asking all this?" Damon asked.

"Damon, I'm not stupid. You're a vampire, not a human. I'm just interested to learn about it all." He shrugged. "I asked Stefan once but I gathered quite quickly that Stefan is a vampire that pretends he's human whereas you don't. So who better to ask?" Ric asked and Damon chuckled.

"Fine. It takes out frustrations, releases any pent up rage; you give into the monster a little bit when you kill, especially by draining and it's just a general release. When a vampire drains a human dry it's a full body experience and it kind of feels a bit like having a mind blowing orgasm but all over your body." Damon said and Ric was fascinated. "Being a vampire can be very primal at times. When there's a threat to your territory, it's very satisfactory to take said threat out. Vampires are very territorial so without really meaning to, the area you live in becomes yours." Damon said. "Drinking blood from a human then stopping after a few sips is unnatural to a vampire. I guess it would be like a human feeling starving then stopping their dinner after a few bites from a full plate." Damon said. "So it's not ending a life that is the appeal. It's the feeling of being full, feeling strong and replenished." Damon said.

"I have to say I'm surprised at your answer." Ric said.

"How so?" Damon asked confused.

"I thought that it would be a power thing." Ric replied.

"You mean having the power to take a life?" Damon asked and Ric nodded. "Baby vampires feel that. That gets old quickly." Damon replied.

"It doesn't sound evil the way you described it." Ric said honestly and Damon laughed.

"I'm kind of worried about you right now." Damon said and Ric chuckled.

"So, if that's what it's like, why don't you do it more often?" Ric asked curiously and Damon shrugged.

"Less messy not to. There's only so often I can be bothered to bury a body." Damon said. "Besides, Judgy said she would kill me if I killed anymore." Damon pointed out.

"You killed after that though." Ric replied and Damon snapped his head to look at him. "I guessed that the girl on the news and the campers were you." Ric said and Damon's eyes widened.

"Yeah, it was." Damon nodded. "What tipped me off?"

"It was around the time that Rose died. I just put two and two together." Ric said.

"You're not going to lecture me?" Damon asked surprised.

"What would that accomplish? Are you going to lecture me about being a human?" Ric asked and Damon looked stunned. "I don't have a right to tell you how to live your life or what's right or wrong. You're a different species from me and I certainly don't know enough about it to give you a valid opinion on how to be a vampire." Ric chuckled.

"I think Bonnie would have a heart attack if she heard you say that." Damon smirked, very happy with Alaric's answer. Alaric noticed of course.

"Yeah, well. She's a child with no life experience that was given far too much power at too young an age." Ric said and Damon laughed. "She doesn't have the right to judge you just because she can take you out. I feel quite sorry for her, actually. She has so much responsibility that she put on her own shoulders just because she hates you. It's really quite sad." Ric sighed.

"You used to hate me." Damon pointed out.

"No, I didn't." Ric shook his head. "I don't think you live long enough to waste time hating anyone. True, I didn't like you at first, but I got over that quickly enough." He chuckled.

"When did that happen?" Damon asked curiously.

"I think when you said the think about Isobel sitting in slippers with a cigar." Ric said and Damon laughed. "It was just so ridiculous." Ric laughed.

"Do you still drink vervain?" Damon asked.

"No, why?" Ric asked and Damon looked surprised.

"You don't drink vervain and you don't have your ring anymore... How do you know I won't eat you?" Damon asked and Ric laughed.

"I can never be sure of anything you'll do, I suppose. But I'm guessing you need me long enough to at least get to the shaman." Ric pointed out and Damon rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"Is that your own weird Alaric way of saying you trust me?" Damon asked amused.

"I would be hesitant to tell you that even if I did." Alaric said and Damon laughed.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because if I told you I trusted you, you'd probably do something to prove me wrong just to amuse yourself." Ric pointed out and Damon laughed loudly.

"Touché." Damon smirked. He was about to say something else when his phone rang. "Yes?" Damon answered.

"_Hey! How are you today?_" Caroline asked and he chuckled.

"I'm fine, how are you?" Damon said teasingly and she laughed.

"_Well... I'm kind of freaking out._" She said honestly and he rolled his eyes.

"About what?" Damon asked.

"_I'm about to go kidnap Matt with Bonnie and Tyler but none of us have ever kidnapped anyone before so... we don't know how._" She said and Damon laughed.

"Just sneak up behind him, cover his mouth then vampire speed away with him." Damon instructed. "Then once you've got him somewhere without an audience, tie him up and take him to the cell."

"_That sounds kind of... Much._" She said and he rolled his eyes.

"Barbie, you compel him to forget that you did that." Damon pointed out.

"_Could you give me a gentler option?_" She asked sweetly and he sighed.

"Does he know that Judgy is a witch?" Damon asked.

"_No, I don't think so._" She replied.

"Okay, well, have her call him and arrange to meet him somewhere to talk then when he gets there just tell him to get in the car and explain what you're going to do and tell him that he either goes along with it or you'll tie him up and stick him in the trunk." Damon said. "Believe me he'll go along with it. Nobody wants to be tied up and put in a trunk." Damon said and she giggled.

"_That is better. Thanks, Damon! You doing okay? Is Alaric okay?_" She asked and he chuckled.

"Yes, dear. We're fine. Eating our veggies and everything." Damon mocked and she laughed.

"_Okay! I'll call you with an update!_" She said then hung up before Damon could argue and he rolled his eyes.

"She's going to call me like 100 times a day." Damon muttered and Ric laughed.

"Is it really so awful, Damon? That you have someone that looks up to you?" Ric asked and Damon sighed.

"She isn't that bad." Damon admitted and Ric laughed.

"It's good that you were nice to her." Ric smiled.

"She's too sweet for my own good." Damon rolled his eyes. "Murderous vampire with a soft spot for a Barbie doll... What is the world coming to?" Damon muttered and Ric laughed.

"Calling yourself a murderer is a bit harsh." Ric commented.

"I do kill people." Damon replied.

"Yeah, to eat. That's not murder." Ric pointed out.

"Okay, you're really starting to worry me now." Damon said and Ric shrugged.

"I think you're a bit too hard on yourself. We left Mystic Falls and we aren't going back. Just forget all the crap that happened before we left. Everything that happened there doesn't have to follow us anymore. No point in dwelling on it. It's done." Ric said.

"Are you serious?" Damon asked surprised.

"Yup." Ric nodded. "Clean slate from here on out for both of us." He said.

"Why would you say that to me?" Damon asked sceptically and Ric smiled.

"Because, the last few years have been crap. This little adventure we're on sounds like it could be a lot of fun and I want to enjoy it without feeling bad about everything else. So I'm going to pretend that Mystic Falls never happened but to do that, you need to do the same or you'll just end up broody like your brother." Ric smirked and Damon laughed.

"Alright, Mr Saltzman. You're on." Damon agreed. He was seeing a whole new side to the teacher and he liked it a lot. In that moment, he completely forgot about Stefan and just focused on having fun with his friend.

* * *

><p>Damon woke up the following morning in his hotel room because his phone was ringing.<p>

"Hello?" He asked sleepily.

"_Damon?_" He heard Alaric whisper.

"Ric? Why are you calling me? Aren't you next door?" Damon asked confused.

"_Well... Not exactly. You left before me last night and I went home with this chick and now I'm handcuffed to her bed._" Ric said and Damon laughed loudly.

"How the hell did that happen?" Damon asked amused.

"_I'm fuzzy on the details._" Ric muttered and Damon laughed.

"Would you like me to come rescue you?" Damon asked amused.

"_That'd be nice. She has all this crazy dominatrix stuff._" Ric whispered and Damon laughed.

"Do you know where you are?" Damon asked.

"_She lives next door to a Taco Bell and I remember that her front door has a pink plant pot outside of it. That's it._" Ric said and Damon smirked.

"I'll find you." Damon chuckled.

"_Thanks, Damon! Hurry! She's coming back!_" Ric said urgently then hung up. Damon got up and got dressed and had to laugh again at the thought of Ric ending up in that situation. He got his stuff, compelled the bitten girl then went to the hotel front desk and compelled the addresses of all the Taco Bells in the area. He started off with the ones closest to the bar they'd been in but had no luck. He did eventually end up finding a small house with a pink plant pot outside of it and went to the door and knocked. A beautiful petite brunette opened the door wearing a red robe and Damon was stunned at how gorgeous she was.

"Invite me in." Damon compelled her.

"Come in." She said in a daze and Damon walked right in.

"Ric?" Damon called.

"Mphmph!" He heard back and laughed.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" The brunette asked confused. Damon ignored her and walked up the stairs and into the bedroom and burst out laughing. Ric had his arms and legs tied to the bed with red fluffy handcuffs, a red feather boa was around his neck and a gag in his mouth. Damon could see that she'd punished him with shaped paddles considering all the heart and star shaped bruises that were forming all over Ric.

"How did this even happen?" Damon laughed as he walked over to the bed and took the gag out of Ric's mouth.

"I'm never drinking again." Ric groaned and Damon chuckled then stood back and took a picture with his phone and Ric rolled his eyes. Damon then moved back to Ric and broke all the handcuffs and Ric scrambled up and stretched. "Thank God!" Ric exclaimed. "Let's get the hell out of here before she comes back!" He said and Damon laughed.

"How exactly is she going to overpower me, Ric?" Damon asked amused and Ric sighed.

"Good point. I have no idea where my clothes are." Ric said honestly and Damon laughed. Ric was only wearing boxers and socks.

"Why are you out of bed?" The brunette asked annoyed when she came into the room.

"You are a complete loon!" Ric told her wide eyed.

"Next time you should probably get permission before you do this kind of stuff." Damon pointed out to her.

"Where are my clothes?" Ric asked her angrily.

"I'm not giving you them back." She crossed her arms over her chest and Damon sighed.

"I'm kind of hungry." Damon said to Ric and Ric laughed.

"By all means. Bite hard, will you?" Ric asked and Damon laughed.

"What are you talking about?" The brunette asked confused and Damon sauntered over to her.

"This." Damon said to her then changed his face and her jaw dropped then she screamed and he sunk his fangs into her neck and reluctantly pulled away when her heart slowed.

"You called a vampire!" She yelled at Ric and Ric glared at her.

"You handcuffed me to the bed!" He yelled back at her.

"You." Damon poked her on the arm. "Get his clothes or you'll be buried in your back yard in half an hour." Damon said to her and her face paled and she raced out of the room. She came back with Ric's clothes and he pulled them on. Damon noticed when Ric turned around that he had big gash marks across his back where she'd obviously hurt him badly. That pissed him off. It was funny when he thought it was just a little but they looked deep and painful. "You whipped his back?" Damon asked her in a deadly tone and she looked terrified.

"He liked it." She whispered taking a step back.

"He's clearly in pain, how is that liking it?" Damon asked her angrily as he took a step forward towards her. "You will not do this to anyone again or I'll come back and kill you, do you understand?" Damon compelled her.

"I understand." She replied in a daze.

"You will remember that I'm a vampire but you won't tell anyone ever." Damon said and she repeated it back to him. Damon and Ric left then and went to the car. Damon gave Ric some blood when they got in the car to heal his wounds and Ric was so thankful to him for it.

"Thanks for coming to get me. I really think she was a major loon." Ric said and Damon nodded.

"It was one thing when I thought it was just handcuffs and paddles but a whip? That is so out of line." Damon shook his head furiously.

"I thought you were going to kill her, to be honest." Ric said and Damon nodded.

"I was going to then realised your DNA is all over her room and her body. You would end up being suspect number one." Damon smirked and Ric nodded in understanding.

"Thanks." Ric said sincerely.

"The photo is still funny though." Damon smirked and Ric rolled his eyes.

* * *

><p>Damon and Ric went to a diner so Ric could get some breakfast. He was all healed thanks to Damon's blood. Damon was internally glad that Alaric's wounds were healed because he smelled kind of... appetising.<p>

"Laid two nights in a row. I'm impressed." Damon winked at Ric and Ric chuckled.

"I wasn't always a boring old history teacher you know." Ric teased.

"It's a shame the chick was so crazy because she was seriously hot." Damon said and Ric laughed.

"Yeah but I think I'm traumatised now." Ric agreed and Damon chuckled.

"Aww, you going to pass on the chicks tonight then?" Damon asked amused.

"Yeah, I think I will." Ric nodded.

"You seriously don't want to get laid tonight because of her?" Damon asked surprised as he'd only been kidding.

"Well, yeah, I'll probably still try and get laid. I'll just skip the chicks." Ric shrugged as he drank his coffee.

"But how are you going to get laid if you're skipping the chicks?" Damon asked confused and Ric laughed.

"You had a serious blonde moment there." Ric said and Damon's jaw dropped.

"You mean..." Damon stared in shock.

"Wow, two plus two, Damon." Ric smirked as he ate his pancakes.

"You sleep with dudes?" Damon asked in pure shock and disbelief.

"I've managed to freak out badass Damon Salvatore. I feel honoured." Ric said teasingly and Damon blinked.

"I'm not freaked out, it's just... it's you." Damon said.

"What's the big deal?" Ric asked confused.

"How didn't I know this before?" Damon asked annoyed.

"It didn't come up." Ric shrugged. "I mostly like women and have to get a notion for men." Ric explained casually.

"But you're... A history teacher." Damon said still in surprise and Alaric laughed.

"So just because I'm a teacher I have to be at home with a Stepford wife?" Alaric asked amused.

"You've done that before?" Damon asked curiously.

"Slept with guys?" Alaric asked him and Damon nodded. "Yeah, why?" Alaric asked casually.

"I haven't." Damon said honestly and Alaric chuckled.

"I can't believe there's something I've done that you haven't. That's surreal." Alaric laughed.

"Are you serious though? About going out and going home with a guy?" Damon asked curiously and Ric laughed.

"Sure, if I see anyone I find attractive." Ric shrugged his shoulders. "Why? Does it bother you?" Ric asked.

"Why would it?" Damon asked confused.

"Well, you were born in a different century. I'm sure stuff like that was sacrilege in your day." Ric said. "I won't if it bothers you." Ric shrugged then drank down his coffee.

"Everything was sacrilege in my day." Damon pointed out with an eye roll. "But no, you can sleep with whoever you want, it doesn't bother me." Damon shrugged.

"Okay, cool. Just so you know though, if it does bother you at some point, just say something and I'll stop." Ric said and Damon looked confused.

"You're different now than you were in Mystic Falls." Damon commented.

"I had to appear a certain way there." Ric replied. "I would have majorly drawn attention to myself if I were completely honest about it there." He shrugged.

"This is just weird." Damon blurted and Ric laughed.

"What's weird is how you're so shocked." Ric laughed.

"Okay, I admit, I would have never seen this coming." Damon said and Ric rolled his eyes.

"Is it such a big deal?" Ric asked curiously.

"No." Damon shook his head but Ric could see that Damon was completely taken by surprise and he had to laugh.

"Where's the next stop?" Ric asked and Damon's jaw dropped.

"We're not done talking about this." Damon said and Ric chuckled.

"Oh, really?" Alaric asked amused.

"You're totally mocking me." Damon deadpanned and Alaric laughed.

"You're facial expressions in the last couple of minutes have been completely mock-worthy." Ric smirked.

"Can I ask questions?" Damon asked ignoring the comment and Alaric was so amused by how all of Damon's bravado and snarkiness flew out the window because he was just so shocked.

"You can ask. Doesn't mean I'll answer." Alaric teased using Damon's words. Damon rolled his eyes at hearing them back.

"How often does this happen?" He asked and Alaric chuckled.

"Uh... just whenever I feel like it." Alaric shrugged and Damon scowled at him.

"That's a crap answer, dude." Damon said and Ric laughed.

"Well, before and after Isobel, say about a quarter of the time?" Ric shrugged.

"That's... often." Damon said as he thought about that and Ric chuckled. He wasn't remotely embarrassed about it but found Damon's whole naivety about it hilarious.

"Where's the next stop?" Ric asked curiously.

"Jacksonville, Florida." Damon mumbled as he drank his coffee.

"Think that's a good idea?" Ric asked and Damon cocked an eyebrow to explain. "It's the full moon tonight. Jacksonville is where Tyler's been living." Ric said and Damon rolled his eyes.

"If you're worried we can go to Palm Coast instead." Damon shrugged.

"Well, I've been to Jacksonville so Palm Coast is cool." Ric said as he got his phone out and checked his emails.

"Does anyone know about this?" Damon asked.

"Know about what?" Alaric asked absently while he scrolled through his phone and Damon rolled his eyes.

"About you getting freaky with dudes." Damon said and Alaric nearly buckled over laughing.

"Your choice of words was priceless." Alaric laughed. "Yeah, Caroline knows. She kind of caught me once." Alaric shrugged and Damon's jaw dropped.

"How is it everyone doesn't know if she knows?" Damon asked.

"I asked her not to say anything." Alaric shrugged. "Hmm." Alaric said.

"What are you hmming at?" Damon asked curiously.

"I just got a notification about an interesting museum exhibit in Texas." Alaric said and Damon laughed.

"This is not possible." Damon muttered to himself and Alaric looked up at him.

"What's not possible?" Ric asked confused.

"How can Mr Museum Phone Alerts be all secretly freaky?" Damon asked and Alaric cracked up with laughter.

"How can Mr Ancient Bloodthirsty Vampire be such a prude?" Alaric asked and Damon's jaw dropped.

"I'm not a prude!" Damon said horrified and Alaric laughed.

"It's kind of cute actually." Alaric teased and Damon looked completely affronted.

"I can't believe you just said that." Damon deadpanned and Alaric chuckled.

"You're freaking out over something that doesn't remotely affect you." Alaric pointed out.

"Well, it kind of does affect me now since you called me a prude." Damon said and Alaric rolled his eyes.

"You called me freaky." Alaric reminded him.

"Think I'm going to have to try this now." Damon sighed and Alaric gave him a look of disbelief.

"Damon, you're straight." Alaric pointed out and Damon shrugged.

"Aren't you?" Damon asked.

"Not completely." Alaric shook his head.

"Is it just a physical thing for you?" Damon asked surprised.

"Are you asking if I'd ever date a guy?" Alaric asked and Damon nodded. "Never say never but it hasn't happened yet." He replied. "I would probably if I met someone interesting." He shrugged.

"What's the difference?" Damon asked.

"What do you mean?" Alaric asked confused and Damon rolled his eyes. He was far too intrigued by this for his own good, he thought.

"Between sleeping with a girl and a guy." Damon said.

"Oh. It's very different." Alaric nodded going back to his phone.

"How so?" Damon asked and Ric laughed.

"I'm not talking about this with you anymore." Ric chuckled.

"Why not?" Damon asked offended.

"Fine, if I tell you the difference in my opinion, will you shut up about it?" Ric asked.

"Fine." Damon nodded.

"Sex with girls is usually a bit more tender and with guys it usually is a bit more on the lust and primal side." Ric said. "Can we go now?" Ric asked Damon who looked a little too intrigued. Alaric wished he'd never said anything...


	4. Florida and Alabama

I don't own The Vampire Diaries, I'm just a fan :)

* * *

><p>Unlikely<p>

Chapter 4

* * *

><p>They'd been driving for two hours and Damon had been really quiet so Alaric was busy reading the latest Grisham. Damon glanced at him from time to time but Alaric pretended not to notice. He knew that he'd thrown Damon for a loop with their earlier conversation and he was just worried that Damon would suddenly be weirded out by him. It's hardly like he found Damon attractive so it's not like Damon had anything to worry about.<p>

Damon's phone rang and Alaric saw Damon dramatically roll his eyes before he answered.

"Did we get married and I was too drunk to remember?" Damon answered and Caroline giggled.

"_What's that supposed to mean?_" She asked with a giggle.

"You called me four times yesterday." Damon reminded her.

"_Just to update you on the Matt thing._" She replied.

"You totally miss me, don't you?" Damon asked amused.

"_Mystic Falls will be pretty boring without you._" She conceded and he chuckled.

"Anyway, what's up Barbie?" Damon asked.

"_When do you think I can compel Matt? He's been kind of a dick about all of this._" She said and Damon sighed.

"You don't say." Damon muttered.

"_Why do you dislike him so much?_" She asked curiously.

"He aimed a shot gun with wooden bullets at me. Why the hell would I like the creep?" Damon asked annoyed and she laughed.

"_True but they were meant for me, not you._" She reminded him and he scowled.

"Because that's any better." Damon said without thinking and he could practically hear her grinning on the other side of the phone.

"_That might be the nicest thing you've said to me._" She replied and he rolled his eyes.

"It was just a moment of insanity; don't read too much into it." Damon said and she laughed.

"_Okay. You didn't call my mom. She's being all crazy, by the way._" Caroline said.

"How so?" Damon asked.

"_She wants to know like everything and I told her that I'm not telling her anything until I talked to you about it._" Caroline said.

"Excellent." Damon smiled. "Don't tell her anything. She's not a vampire. She doesn't need to know."

"_I figured that though she said if I don't tell her she'll kick me out of the house._" Caroline said sadly.

"You can live at the boarding house if she does that. Or blow the town all together." Damon shrugged. "It's not really safe for you there anymore now that the Sheriff knows."

"_Think she'd kill me?_" Caroline asked but she didn't sound shocked which surprised Damon.

"I'd like to be able to say no to that but I really have no idea what goes on in that head of hers." Damon said.

"_She asked about the deputies._" Caroline said nervously and Damon nodded.

"Tell her it was me then." Damon said.

"_Why would you do that?_" Caroline asked surprised.

"Because you only did that to save us, and I don't care what Liz thinks of me." Damon shrugged.

"_Thanks, Damon._" She said softly and he rolled his eyes. "_What are you two up to?_" She asked curiously.

"We're on our way to Florida." Damon replied.

"_Is Stefan there?_" She asked surprised and Damon slapped his hand to his forehead. He hadn't even been paying attention to the news about bodies and stuff. Crap.

"Uh... we're following a lead." Damon lied and Ric chuckled.

"_Oh. Just be careful. Tyler said that there's like 50 wolves in Jacksonville._" She said and Damon chuckled.

"You sound like, Ric. We're not going there anyway." Damon said.

"_How come it's taken two days to drive to Florida?_" She asked curiously and Damon chuckled.

"I don't drive for more than a few hours in a row, Barbie." Damon pointed out and she laughed.

"_It's good you're making some time for fun. You should take a little break. Everything's been so stressful lately, especially for you._" She said sweetly and he chuckled.

"Okay, I lied. We're not going to Florida to follow Stefan. We're on a road trip." Damon chuckled and she laughed.

"_Good. You having fun?_" She asked. Damon was constantly surprised by her.

"I had to rescue Ric this morning. That was funny." Damon smirked and Ric rolled his eyes.

"_Rescue him from what?_" She asked curiously.

"Let's just say he had a little bit too much to drink last night and went home with a really mental girl." Damon chuckled.

"_Is he okay?_" She asked concerned.

"Yes, he's fine, dear." Damon said in a mocking tone.

"_That's good. Do you have a plan for Stefan?_" She asked curiously.

"Mmhmm." Damon replied.

"_Are you going to tell me?_" She asked like she was talking to a three year old and he laughed.

"Can you keep your mouth shut?" Damon asked back the same way she had.

"_Of course._" She replied immediately.

"Ric knows a shaman that can poison vampires to death so we're going to see him but he lives in Washington State and Ric's never been on a road trip across the country so we're taking our time." Damon explained.

"_I'm jealous._" She replied sadly.

"If you're a very good little vampire I may consider letting you tag along after Klaus has been dealt with." Damon said.

"_Why after?_" She asked.

"Because there's a good chance this poisoning thing won't work and I'll end up either trading places with Stefan or dead." Damon said and she gasped.

"_Damon? Can I ask you something that may make you mad?_" She asked and he rolled his eyes.

"What?"

"_If there's a chance you could die... Couldn't you just leave Stefan to finish his deal?_" She asked and Damon blinked in surprise. "_It's only 10 years, right? What's that to a vampire?_" Damon felt himself go silent.

"He doesn't deserve that, Caroline." Damon said softly.

"_Neither do you!_" She exclaimed.

"I think you forget that I used to snack on you." Damon said hoping she would drop it.

"_Whatever, I'm over it, you should be too._" She said shocking him.

"Are you kidding?" Damon asked surprised and she laughed.

"_Nope. By the way, did you hear that Jeremy totally sees dead people now?_" She asked and Damon's brow furrowed in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Damon asked.

"_Since Bonnie brought him back from the dead, he's been seeing Anna and Vicki._" Caroline said and his jaw dropped.

"Are they corporeal?" Damon asked shocked.

"_No, but Bonnie thinks they might be soon. That's her problem anyway, I'm not getting involved in that crap. Besides, she's been extra crabby lately. It's getting old fast._" Caroline said and Damon chuckled.

"In general or just with you?" Damon asked curiously.

"_I think it's just with me. She went ape shit at me drinking blood last night. I was like, duh, vampire, you don't see me yelling at you when you're eating a sandwich._" She said and Damon laughed.

"Tell Judgy to fuck off next time. She's supposed to be your friend." Damon reminded her.

"_Yeah, I know, right? I think it's totally lame that she can't accept me like this. It's not like I judge her for being a witch. Though I should start and see how she likes it._" Caroline said and Damon smirked.

"The fewer witches the better." Damon muttered and she laughed.

"_Back to our previous topic, you're going to have to tell me where you are in a couple of days so I can come meet you._" She said and Damon deadpanned.

"And why would I do that?" Damon asked.

"_Because you're my sire and you never taught me how to live as a vampire away from home. I can't stay here forever but I don't know how to go out on my own. If you really are going through with this stupid plan, you need to teach me in case something happens. Stefan won't teach me reality and he'll be too busy canoodling with Elena to do it anyway._" She explained and Damon felt terrible. He had completely forgotten about that. She had been doing so well in Mystic Falls that he forgot she was a baby vampire most of the time.

"I'll think about it." Damon replied.

"_Then you might as well stake me, because I won't make it out there on my own._" She said and the thought of staking her made him itchy.

"Fine, I'll talk to Ric about it and get back to you. You'll no doubt call me in like two hours anyway." Damon muttered and she laughed.

"_I'll ease up on the calling._" She giggled.

"You do that." Damon smirked. He didn't really mind.

"_I will call you later but I'll try not to make it four times today._" She said and he rolled his eyes.

"Tell Liz I'll call her later." Damon said.

"_Okay, bye!_" She said then hung up.

"Can you call Jeremy and find out more about this seeing dead people thing?" Damon asked Ric.

"What are you talking about?" Ric asked confused.

"Sorry, forgot you don't have vampire hearing." Damon rolled his eyes. "Apparently, Jeremy can see dead people."

"The consequences?" Ric asked surprised. "Sure, I'll call." Ric nodded.

* * *

><p>Damon was waiting for Alaric in the hotel bar to finish getting ready. They were going out to a bar then a nightclub. Damon was really curious about the fact he knew Alaric was going after a guy instead of a girl that night. He had no idea why he kept thinking about it – he hadn't before. Maybe it was the fact that Ric seemed to like it. He really wanted to ask more questions about it but Ric didn't want to talk about it. Damon figured he'd just ask once Ric was drunk then maybe he'd talk about it more. Why did he want to talk about it more? Damon shook his head in annoyance.<p>

"Hey, sorry I took so long." Ric said from behind Damon who was sitting at the bar. Damon turned around and was surprised to see Ric dressed differently than usual. He was wearing a tight black fitted t-shirt and dark blue jeans. It was really warm so no jacket was necessary. Damon was surprised because Ric normally always wore stuffy looking shirts that made him look middle aged. He noticed that Ric had gel in his hair as well making him look mid twenties. He looked... pretty good actually.

"Good thing I'm not aging." Damon smirked and Ric laughed.

"Want to go when you finish your drink or should we have a few here?" Ric asked casually as he looked around. Damon downed his drink then stood up.

"Let's go." Damon said.

* * *

><p>They went to a busy bar then found an open air nightclub. Damon had been watching Ric curiously all night because he wanted to see this thing in action – he had no idea why it was so interesting but it was. Once Ric was nice and drunk, Damon tried to ask him more questions but Ric just laughed and told him to let it go. Then Damon was distracted by a couple of girls coming up to talk to him and when he turned back to Ric, he was gone. Damon looked around a little and noticed Ric talking to a tall good looking blonde guy with really broad shoulders. Damon watched fascinated as the two of them talked for a good half hour and his jaw dropped when the blonde started to kiss Ric. It got heated fast then he noticed the two of them leaving the club. Damon got a text a short while later.<p>

_Gone to hotel. See you in the morning._

Damon rolled his eyes. He was going to have to find a girl for the night or Ric would think he was being weird. It didn't take long – he was Damon Salvatore after all. He took the girl back to his room that was on the same floor as Ric's room and he couldn't help eavesdropping a little because of his major curiosity.

"_Jesus Christ, Al!" The guy panted and groaned and moaned._

"_Shhh, you'll wake the whole hotel!" Ric whispered amused._

"_I don't care! Do that again!" He exclaimed and Ric laughed._

"_Do what again? This?" Ric asked and the guy moaned loudly._

"_Fuck, yes! That!" He replied._

Damon's jaw was dropped and he had to stop listening... He found that he was rock hard and had no idea why. He shook himself out of his thoughts and set to work on his bite'n'fuck for the night.

* * *

><p>Damon woke up alone because he'd sent the girl away when he was done. He wanted to be alone when he was finished. He woke up in the morning and replayed the events of the previous night. He <em>really<em> wanted to know what the thing was that the guy wanted Ric to do again. It sounded like Alaric was gifted in the sack and that was kind of interesting... He didn't like being so... inexperienced about something because there wasn't much else he hadn't done in his long life. He'd always wanted to do everything but he wouldn't have the faintest idea how to do something like that. He was sure that the idea should have made him uncomfortable but it was oddly an exciting thought instead. When one lived so long there was hardly ever anything new to try so Damon was kind of all for it now.

He got up and got showered and dressed then left the room. He went down to Ric's room lost in thought so he wasn't listening when he knocked on the door. He focused his hearing.

"_Who could that be? Did you order room service?" The guy said._

"_No, it's probably just Damon." Ric whispered._

"_Damon? He hot?" The guy asked and Ric laughed. (Damon smirked.)_

"_He thinks so." Ric replied. (Damon rolled his eyes.)_

The door opened a crack a few seconds later and Ric popped his head around the door.

"Hey... uh... can I have like an hour?" Ric asked Damon. Damon was stunned that Ric wasn't trying to avoid his one night stand.

"You're still at it?" Damon asked a little shocked and Ric chuckled.

"Well... yeah." Ric said and Damon blinked in surprise.

"Okay, I'll go get breakfast then." Damon smirked.

"Can I meet him?" The guy called from the room and Damon chuckled and Ric rolled his eyes.

"No." Ric said in a bored tone.

"Why not?" Damon asked amused.

"Whatever." Ric said opening the door. "Damon, Luke. Luke, Damon." Ric pointed while holding up the sheet around himself. Damon saw the blonde guy sitting with his back against the headboard with the cover up past his waist.

"Hi Damon." Luke smiled widely and Damon smirked at being eyed up by Alaric's one night stand.

"Luke." Damon nodded.

"Okay, you said hi." Alaric said as he pushed Damon out of the room and closed the door while Damon looked highly amused.

* * *

><p>Damon was sitting waiting in the car when Alaric finally hurried out of the hotel with a bag. He jumped in the car after tossing his bag in the back seat.<p>

"Where to next?" Ric asked and Damon smirked at him.

"Dothan, Alabama." Damon chuckled as he drove away. "So what did Luke say about me?" Damon asked amused and Ric rolled his eyes.

"You didn't stand and listen to him singing your praises then?" Alaric asked and Damon laughed.

"No, after last night I didn't really want to have to hear you two again." Damon said and Alaric's eyes widened.

"Well, that's embarrassing." Ric said and Damon laughed.

"I am quite curious to know what the thing he wanted you to do again is though." Damon smirked and Ric blushed.

"You have got to be kidding me." Ric muttered. "Damon, you can't just listen in like that. That's not fair." He complained.

"It's not like I was purposely listening. I was walking past with a chick. I can't just shut down my ears." Damon countered.

"Fine. Next hotel we're getting rooms further apart." Alaric mumbled and Damon chuckled.

"So you're not going to tell me?" Damon cocked an eyebrow.

"Why do you want to know?" Alaric asked confused.

"Because it sounded like he rather enjoyed it." Damon winked and Ric rolled his eyes.

"If you're just going to mock me, don't talk to me." Ric muttered.

"I'm not mocking you, actually." Damon said. "For a change. I am genuinely curious considering I haven't slept with a guy before."

"Damon, I'm not talking about this with you." Ric mumbled as he got his book out.

"Why not?" Damon asked curiously.

"If you're so curious, go find out for yourself." Ric smirked thinking Damon wouldn't.

"Are you suggesting I go find a guy for the night?" Damon asked amused.

"Either that or stop talking about it." Ric said and Damon laughed.

"You're the one that said we're friends." Damon pointed out and Ric looked up at him.

"What's your point?" Ric asked.

"Can't friends talk about this stuff with each other?" Damon asked and Ric was surprised that Damon didn't sound at all mocking when he said that.

"Damon? Why are you so intrigued by this?" Alaric asked concerned. He'd never seen Damon so interested in an idea before.

"I kind of... want to try it." Damon shrugged and Alaric looked surprised.

"Why?" Ric asked.

"Well, I'm a try anything once kind of guy." Damon replied.

"It's really not that big of a deal, you know." Ric said.

"Any tips?" Damon cocked an eyebrow at him and Ric chuckled.

"Get drunk first." Ric said and Damon laughed.

"Well, yeah. Obviously. After that." Damon smirked.

"Just do what you like. The first time with a guy is a lot easier than the first time with a girl." Alaric shrugged.

"Really?" Damon asked surprised and Ric nodded.

"Maybe you should think about it for a little while before just jumping in. You're straight so there really isn't any reason for you to try it." Ric shrugged.

"When do I ever think about things before I do them?" Damon smirked and Ric laughed.

"You're crazy." Ric said and Damon shrugged.

"It's possible." Damon smiled.

* * *

><p>The boys found themselves in a tiny dingy bar next to their hotel in Dothan, Alabama. They'd been there for four hours and both were seriously drunk as Damon was drinking doubles while Ric was drinking singles.<p>

"I think I'm going to call it a night." Ric said as he checked his phone. It was nearly 10pm and though it wasn't late – he was seriously drunk and tired.

"What? Why?" Damon asked surprised.

"I'm tired." Ric shrugged.

"But, we haven't met anyone yet." Damon complained and Ric laughed.

"We're in Alabama, Damon. It's probably against the law to get laid here." Ric teased and Damon laughed.

"Not for us." Damon winked and Alaric rolled his eyes.

"Damon, there're like three chicks in here and they're all over forty, so I don't know about you but I think I'll pass." Ric said and Damon gave him a confused look.

"I'm supposed to be having my experiment." Damon pointed out and Ric chuckled.

"In Alabama? Are you insane? Good luck with that." Ric said amused.

"Well..." Damon gulped down his drink. "What about..." He motioned between them and Ric's jaw dropped.

"Are you out of your vampire mind?" Ric asked in disbelief.

"Why's it so hard to believe after all my questions?" Damon asked curiously.

"Damon, that would be the worst idea ever." Ric said seriously.

"Why?" Damon asked raising an eyebrow.

"First of all, because we're travelling together. Second, we're friends. Third... I wouldn't be comfortable with that." Ric said awkwardly.

"Friends have sex with each other all the time. It's because of what I am, isn't it?" Damon asked quietly.

"No." Ric shook his head.

"Then what's the big deal?" Damon asked. "Is it because you think I'll bite you?" Damon asked.

"Damon, you know I'm not drinking vervain. If you wanted to bite me there isn't a hell of a lot I could do about it." Ric reminded him.

"I wouldn't unless you wanted me to." Damon promised.

"I can't." Ric shook his head. "You're wasted." He stood up and patted Damon on the shoulder. "Night, Damon." He said then left the bar and walked back to the hotel. Damon's eyes followed him until he was out then he stared at the door. What the hell just happened?

* * *

><p>Damon's eyes snapped open and he felt an arm over his waist. He honestly couldn't remember who the hell was next to him. He chanced a look down to see a woman in her forties wearing too much makeup lying next to him and he wanted to groan but didn't want to risk waking her. She had a nasty looking bite on her shoulder – he'd been vicious. He frowned at that. He wondered if Alaric was fine with him in normal interaction but afraid of him when it came down to something so private because of the absolute vulnerability. He looked at the bite and wondered if that's what Alaric thought he would wake up with if he stayed the night with Damon. Damon knew he cared about Alaric so he wouldn't hurt him. Damon wasn't sure that Alaric knew that he would never hurt him... you know, <em>again<em>. He was just going to have to show him that he had nothing to worry about.

Damon did something then that he would never normally do. He allowed his face to change then pierced his finger on a fang and allowed a couple of drops of his blood to fall on the woman's bite mark. He watched it heal completely then had a shower and got dressed. He concentrated and went into the woman's sleeping mind to compel her to forget about him biting her then left the room. He went downstairs and found Alaric in the lobby reading a newspaper. He noticed then that it was just after 1pm. He'd slept in because he stayed up so late the night before.

"Hey, you ready to go?" Damon asked casually and Alaric looked up. Alaric looked worse for wear.

"Hey. Yeah, sure." Ric said then folded the newspaper and stood up while picking up his bag. The two of them walked out to the car and got in then Damon drove off. "You should probably have a look at this article." Alaric said as he continued to read.

"What is it?" Damon asked curiously.

"Bodies found with torn out throats. Newspaper is calling them ritualistic. They think its people taking vampire fascination too far." Alaric scoffed.

"Where?" Damon asked.

"Just outside of Pittsburgh." Alaric said and Damon thought about that.

"There'll be more of that if it's Stefan and Klaus." Damon said.

"Are you back up to complete health from the wolf bite?" Alaric asked curiously and Damon shot him a disbelieving look. How did he know that?

"Well... no. That's another reason I wanted to take the scenic route. I need some time to heal it seems. Must be because I was seconds away from death when I got the cure." Damon said and Ric nodded.

"Caroline called me." Ric said and Damon cocked an eyebrow.

"Why?" He asked curiously.

"Apparently she tried calling you yesterday and this morning and you didn't answer so she got worried." Ric chuckled and Damon rolled his eyes.

"Going to have to start calling her 'the wife' soon." Damon mumbled and Ric laughed.

"Apparently she wanted to know our decision on whether or not she can join this little road trip." Ric smirked.

"I forgot to tell you yesterday that she wanted to come." Damon shrugged.

"Where are we going next?" Ric asked curiously.

"Biloxi, Mississippi." Damon said.

"Casinos. Excellent." Ric grinned and Damon turned his head to look at him.

"You like gambling?" Damon asked surprised and Ric laughed.

"I like poker." Ric nodded. "And I'll play two games of roulette."

"Why two?" Damon asked curiously.

"I have a rule for myself when it comes to casinos. I buy $150 in chips then go to a roulette wheel. I put $50 on black and if I win, then I don't play the second game. If I lose I put the $100 on black again. If I win either way, then I've got $200 to spend on poker. If I lose, I go to the bar instead." Ric shrugged.

"That's very... sensible." Damon smirked and Ric laughed.

"It's too addictive if you aren't strict about it though." Ric pointed out and Damon nodded.

"I once won $50000 playing poker then spent the whole thing in the casino that night." Damon chuckled. "Left with nothing. It was very depressing." He smirked and Ric laughed.

"Yeah, I can imagine. If I won that I would take the money and run." Ric said.

"There's a big poker game in Biloxi tonight, that's why I wanted to go. We should both play at the same table then if one of us wins the table, we could split it." Damon shrugged and Ric looked interested.

"What's the buy in?" Ric asked.

"$1000." Damon shrugged.

"That's a lot." Ric said and Damon waved away his concern.

"I've never lost at poker in a casino." Damon smirked. "Don't worry."

"What's the winning sum?" Ric asked.

"$20000." Damon replied and Ric's eyes widened.

"So that'd be ten each." Ric said as he thought about it. "Alright, I'm in." Ric nodded and Damon looked surprised.

"Really?" Damon asked and Ric smirked.

"I've never lost either." Ric said and Damon grinned.

"This could be interesting." Damon said.


	5. Biloxi, MS

I don't own The Vampire Diaries, I'm just a fan :)

Unlikely

Chapter 5

* * *

><p>They were just about to drive into Biloxi after driving for four hours. Ric was reading and Damon was staring at the road. He'd been dying to ask the whole time and couldn't stop himself anymore. They'd been quiet for over an hour while Ric read and Damon listened to the radio.<p>

"So... why'd you turn me down?" Damon asked casually and Ric sighed. This conversation was not happening...

"A multitude of reasons." Ric said then kept reading.

"Which are?" Damon asked.

"Just drop it." Ric said annoyed and Damon chuckled.

"You know I'll just bug you until you tell me." Damon pointed out and Ric rolled his eyes but didn't look up from his book.

"A long list of reasons; starting with, we're friends, you haven't done it before, I really don't want to be your 'experiment' as you put it and you probably won't like it anyway since you don't find men attractive." Ric said.

"You've never thought about it?" Damon asked ignoring his reasons.

"Nope. You aren't my type." Ric said and Damon laughed.

"I think that's the first time anyone's ever said that to me." Damon smirked. "Ouch." He said and Ric sighed.

"If you're hell bent on this, find a random guy." Ric said.

"But I trust _you_." Damon said and Ric was a little surprised that he would admit that. "What's the big deal? You'd still be getting laid, you know." Damon pointed out.

"If you shut up about it, I'll think about it." Ric said and Damon grinned.

"Shutting up." Damon said and Ric rolled his eyes and kept reading.

* * *

><p>The only room left in the hotel throwing the big poker night was a two bedroom suite. Damon accepted the room before Alaric could argue and Ric wasn't pleased about it. He figured they could just go stay at a different hotel but Damon said that they couldn't access the big tournament if they weren't guests. Ric gave Damon a disbelieving look as he could compel them in but Damon ignored him and booked the room then got their keys. Ric was really regretting 'thinking about it'. He figured Damon would never let this go now. He really didn't want to sleep with Damon as he was sure Damon wouldn't like it then he'd be all weird with him afterwards and it would just be uncomfortable and awkward.<p>

They went to the suite and Alaric had a shower, got dressed then ordered room service while they had a drink. He ate while Damon snacked on the room service girl. Alaric thought that he probably should have found that weird but he didn't. Vampires were so normal to him now, Damon even more so. He'd ordered a steak with Jack Daniels sauce and he had to admit it was awesome.

"You look like you're enjoying that." Damon pointed out when he sat down after compelling and sending the girl away.

"It is amazing." Alaric nodded. "Did you enjoy your dinner?" Ric asked amused and Damon chuckled.

"Yes, lovely." Damon smirked. "It doesn't bother you, does it?" Damon asked curiously and Ric laughed.

"No, not at all. I sometimes forget that not everyone knows about vampires because I'm so used to it. It's kind of ridiculous." Ric shrugged then kept eating.

"You'd make a good vampire." Damon said and Ric cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because I don't think you'd turn off your emotions and you have the right temperament for it." Damon shrugged.

"Fair enough." Ric nodded.

"Think you'd want to?" Damon asked curiously.

"If this whole Klaus situation works out then I would." Ric said and Damon looked surprised.

"Just like that?" Damon asked and Ric chuckled.

"It's not like I haven't been thinking about it for a while." Ric commented.

"When did you start thinking about it?" Damon asked and Ric chuckled.

"When Isobel started telling me they were real." Ric replied and Damon looked surprised. "You still haven't called Caroline back." Ric pointed out.

"Crap." Damon said then got his phone out and dialled. She answered almost immediately.

"_Hey! You okay?_" She asked concerned and he chuckled.

"Yes, wife. I'm fine." Damon smirked. "What were you calling me for?" Damon asked curiously.

"_Things have been a little crazy here._" Caroline said and Damon cocked an eyebrow.

"How so?" Damon asked.

"_Well, I compelled Matt then gave him vervain. By the time he got home, Vicki was corporeal and she bit him then passed out from the vervain so I've had to put Matt back in the cell to get him to forget all over again._" She said and Damon's eyes widened.

"You weren't kidding." Damon said.

"_She also drained two people so my mom's going ape all over again just after I managed to calm her down._" Caroline said.

"Crap. Does your mother know it was Vicki?" Damon asked.

"_Yeah, Bonnie and I explained it after Bonnie killed Vicki._" She said and Damon nodded.

"What about Anna?" Damon asked.

"_She's leaving Mystic Falls and she wants to know if she can have your number._" Caroline said.

"As long as she doesn't give it to anyone else." Damon said. "Then you can give it to her."

"_Cool._" She said.

"I think you should leave Mystic Falls, Caroline. What Vicki did will be a major setback with Liz." Damon said.

"_Does this mean you're letting me come with you?_" She asked a little more excitedly and Damon rolled his eyes.

"Yes." Damon said with a sigh.

"_Yay! Thanks Damon!_" She said happily and he chuckled.

"But I'm not going shopping all day every day, understood?" Damon asked and she giggled.

"_Aye, aye, Captain._" She said and he laughed.

"Get yourself packed up, say bye to your friends and in a couple of days we'll arrange somewhere to meet after you've compelled Mutt again. You can fly out." Damon said.

"_Okay! See you soon!_" She said then hung up and Damon sighed.

"What have I done?" Damon muttered to himself and Ric laughed.

"Caroline is a ball of sunshine, Damon. Don't be mean to her." Ric said and Damon rolled his eyes.

"I'm not _mean_ to her." Damon muttered.

"Damon, you know you like her, I know you like her, she knows you like her, stop being a downer." Ric said then took a drink. "You could do with a little sunshine." Ric smirked.

"Fine, I'll be nice to Barbie." Damon mumbled as he took a big gulp of his drink.

* * *

><p>Damon and Alaric were on the final hand in the poker game and it was only them and one other guy left at the table. This hand would determine the winner of the $20000 pot. They'd been playing for three hours and Damon was seriously impressed by Ric's card skills. The dealer asked them to put down their cards.<p>

"Full house." The other man said putting down his cards as they had to go in order and Damon smirked.

"Straight flush." Damon said putting down his hand looking mighty pleased with himself and the other man's face fell.

"Royal flush." Ric said putting down his cards and Damon's jaw dropped. Ric beat him at poker! What?

"Congratulations!" The dealer said. "You are tonight's winner, Mr Saltzman. Please come with me to claim your prize." He said and Ric smirked at Damon.

"I told you I don't lose." Ric said and Damon looked stunned. Ric laughed at Damon's expression then followed the dealer over to the winnings cash register.

"Would you like it in cash or chips?" The dealer asked.

"Cash, please." Ric replied and the dealer nodded. The dealer counted out the money then tied it up and put it in an envelope and handed it over.

"Congratulations again and enjoy your stay in Biloxi! We're having another game tomorrow night and as tonight's winner you are entered at no cost to yourself." He said.

"I'm leaving in the morning, so that's not necessary. But thank you anyway." Ric smiled then walked over to Damon who was looking amused. "Here." Ric handed him the envelope and Damon looked confused.

"Why are you giving it to me?" Damon asked.

"Because who is going to be able to rob you?" Ric asked and Damon chuckled.

"There's a safe in the suite. We can go put it in there for when we're in the bar." Damon said as he tucked the envelope into his jacket. The two of them went over to the elevator and got inside. "Congratulations on your win." Damon smirked and Ric chuckled.

"That was fun. We should stop in Vegas on the way to Washington." Ric grinned and Damon laughed.

"That's a given." Damon said. "So what are you going to do with the winnings?" Damon asked curiously.

"Think I'll take $500 of it out tonight and just have fun." Ric shrugged.

"Just $500?" Damon asked surprised.

"You can do whatever the hell you want with your half, but I think I'll pay off some student loans with mine and keep some for Vegas." Ric shrugged.

"My half?" Damon asked confused.

"We agreed in the car that whoever won would half it." Ric reminded him.

"It's fine." Damon waved him off.

"No, we agreed." Ric said.

"Are you sure?" Damon asked sceptically and Ric laughed.

"Yes." Ric nodded.

"Well, I'm winning next time." Damon smirked.

"We'll see." Ric grinned and Damon chuckled.

* * *

><p>Damon took half of his share out and Ric took $500 like he said. He was in a really good mood from winning and didn't feel like drinking whiskey so he started on champagne which amused Damon. The first thing Ric did when they went back down to the casino was put $400 on black on the roulette table and he won so he ended up having $900 to spend instead. They played some casino games and Damon lost all of his money but won it back and doubled it then they went to the bar.<p>

Damon discovered that Ric was a particularly jolly drunk on champagne. Damon started drinking it too, hoping for the same effect. He was also downing shots to keep up since he had vampire tolerance. After a few hours they were joined by two girls who were also friends, named Toni and Sarah. Sarah was very obviously interested in Ric and Toni liked Damon so it worked out. They were both bottle blondes that looked like playboy playmates. Not either man's usual type but they were really hot so the boys ended up inviting them back to the suite with them and the four of them sat drinking bottles and bottles of champagne.

"I have an idea." Toni piped up. "Let's play a drinking game." She grinned.

"Which one?" Sarah asked her friend.

"Truth or dare." Toni chirped and Ric shot Damon a suspicious look because he looked really amused. Damon was sitting next to Ric on one couch and the girls were on the other opposite them.

"I'll start." Damon smirked. "Sarah, truth or dare?" Damon asked.

"Dare." Sarah exclaimed. All four of them were pretty hammered at this point.

"I dare you to make out with Toni." Damon said.

"Okay." Sarah smiled then the two girls started kissing. Ric really wasn't putting two and two together because of his champagne fried brain and was too busy watching the girls lustfully. "Ric, truth or dare?" Sarah asked when she pulled away.

"Truth." Ric said and she giggled.

"What's your favourite place to have sex?" She asked and Ric thought about it.

"Car bonnet." Ric replied and Damon looked surprised and intrigued while the girls laughed. "Toni, truth or dare?" Ric asked.

"Truth." She smiled.

"Do you like getting bitten during sex?" Ric asked amused and Damon choked on his drink.

"Kinky question." She giggled. "Uh... Yeah, why not?" She asked and Ric laughed. "Damon, truth or dare?"

"Dare." Damon smirked.

"I dare you to make out with Ric." She said. That's when Alaric put it together.

"Oh, god." Ric muttered but before he could protest, Damon crashed his lips to Alaric's. Bear in mind – Alaric was really drunk... So he kind of kissed back... Okay, he really kissed back... And it was pretty good... okay, it was awesome... Alaric could feel the sparks they were generating and it freaked him out so he pulled away. Damon couldn't contain the shock and surprise on his face as he'd felt sparks too.

"You totally compelled them didn't you?" Ric asked Damon suspiciously.

"No, of course not." Damon lied. Alaric gave him a look of amusement that showed he knew better. "Well... maybe... It is possible that I might have done that." Damon smirked and Ric rolled his eyes.

"Girls, how about we play 'I've never' instead?" Ric asked.

"Okay!" Toni said happily and Damon deadpanned. He'd only compelled them to suggest truth or dare then dare them to kiss, he hadn't compelled them to keep going with the game after that and he rolled his eyes. He'd know for next time...

* * *

><p>Ric woke up and swore he was dying. Sarah was wrapped around him naked in the bed so there was no chance of him being able to get up without waking her. He was hit by a flashback of kissing Damon and groaned. He had to stop getting so drunk or Damon would end up getting his way... especially if the kiss was anything to go by, the sex would be incredible. No, he thought to himself. He had to stop thinking about it. It never happened. He could pretend he didn't remember... Lame. Damon would never believe that. Alaric could already tell that Damon would just bug him about it even more now and he rolled his eyes.<p>

He considered just doing it to shut Damon up. But, what if Damon hated it? Then things would be awkward and weird and he would have slept with Damon freaking Salvatore. Worse for Ric was the other thought. What if Damon liked it? That thought kind of terrified him to no end. Either way was beyond dangerous so it was just better if they didn't go there but how could he explain that to Damon? Ric couldn't believe Damon had compelled a girl to dare them to kiss. That was just weird. Ric was sure that Damon was only interested in him because he couldn't have him but he didn't know how to get Damon to back off without just doing it.

Ric was surprised though at how he felt when Damon kissed him. It had been an excellent kiss after all. He had felt something. He'd never felt attracted to Damon before – honestly, it hadn't even crossed his mind. But he had felt something... That was for damn sure. He was actually really glad Caroline was coming because he didn't think Damon would talk about this with her there. So he only had to try and keep Damon at bay for another couple of days.

He got up from the bed slowly and was shocked that Sarah hadn't stirred. He was kind of glad they'd gotten a suite because his room had a bathroom attached. He had a quick shower and got dressed. When he came out his stomach was growling and he really needed to eat something. He was surprised that it was only 8.30am considering he'd been up quite late. He left the suite quietly and made his way down to the dining area in the hotel. The room came with breakfast so he figured he might as well eat something. He got himself a real southern breakfast with grits and everything and strong coffee then started to read the morning newspaper.

More deaths in Ohio. He was so engrossed in the article he didn't even see or hear Damon sit down across from him so when he looked up he jumped.

"Jesus Christ, you're like a cat!" Ric said clutching his chest and Damon laughed loudly.

"It's not my fault you weren't paying attention." Damon smirked.

"You did that on purpose." Ric muttered as he started to read again and Damon chuckled.

"Where?" Damon asked pointing to the article.

"Ohio." Ric replied as he read.

"Hmm. Seems like they had the same idea as us, just the other side of the country." Damon said thoughtfully.

"Mmm." Ric nodded.

"You ready to go after that?" Damon asked.

"Yeah, just need to get my bag." Ric said absently as he drank his coffee.

"I got it after I compelled the girls." Damon shrugged.

"Oh, thanks." Ric said as he finished his coffee and folded the newspaper. "Where to next?" Ric asked.

"New Orleans is only like an hour and a half from here if you want to go there. Or Baton Rouge is just over two hours away." Damon shrugged.

"Whatever, you decide. But tomorrow can we go to Houston so I can go to that exhibit?" Ric asked and Damon chuckled.

"Sure, why not? What's the exhibit?" Damon asked.

"You might not like it but it's interesting for me. It's a Civil War weapons exhibit." Ric said and Damon smirked.

"You know, I still have my military uniform, guns and rifles. I could have just showed you that." Damon teased and Ric's jaw dropped.

"That's so cool." Ric said and Damon chuckled.

"You can have the guns if you want them." Damon said and Ric's eyes widened.

"Are you serious?" Ric asked in shock and Damon smirked.

"Well, yeah." Damon said like it was obvious.

"So cool." Ric said.

"The boarding house storage room has crap from like every decade since Stefan and I were kids. There's probably tons of stuff that could be put in museums." Damon shrugged.

"I can't imagine you ever being a kid." Ric chuckled and Damon smirked.

"Aside from the killing part, I didn't change that much." Damon said.

"Not what I heard." Ric smirked and Damon cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Oh really." Damon said.

"Apparently Katherine told Caroline that you were sweet, kind and polite as a human." Ric teased and Damon rolled his eyes.

"Well, yeah, since I was trying to get in her pants." Damon smirked. "Well, not pants, dress." He corrected and Ric laughed.

"Sure." Ric said and Damon knew that Ric didn't believe his explanation.

"Why did Caroline tell you that anyway?" Damon asked annoyed.

"She talked to me a lot after she turned. She said she wanted to talk to someone who wouldn't judge her." Ric shrugged and Damon looked surprised. "I'm the one that got her to start drinking human blood." Ric said and Damon's jaw dropped.

"How?" Damon asked.

"She kept saying she didn't want to do the animal blood diet and I told her what happened last time when Stefan had human blood and told her that she should consider trying to keep control of herself while sticking to the human stuff." Ric shrugged.

"I did wonder why she all of a sudden started pilfering my stash." Damon nodded. "I was a really crap sire to her." Damon muttered.

"You still have time to make up for it." Ric shrugged.

"You think?" Damon asked sceptically.

"She's a sweet girl, Damon. And I think she'd forgive you for anything." Ric said sincerely and it only made Damon feel worse. "Just be nice to her when she meets up with us. That'll make her happy." Ric said and Damon nodded.

"I'll get her a present in New Orleans." Damon said and Ric chuckled.

"You do that." Ric smirked.

* * *

><p>"What the hell should I get her?" Damon asked after the twelfth shop they'd been in on Bourbon Street and they'd all had the same stuff. "All they've got here is dead alligator stuff!" Damon complained and Ric chuckled.<p>

"New Orleans uses the fleur de lis symbol a lot. Why don't you get her like a bracelet with that on it or something?" Ric suggested and Damon adopted a thoughtful expression.

"That could work. The fleur de lis has been symbolising strength, purity, excellence and illumination for centuries... That could be... nice." Damon said to himself. "Alright. Let's go find a jewellery store." Damon nodded. They found one a short while later and Damon couldn't decide so he ended up rolling his eyes and bought her three things. He got her a matching turquoise bracelet and necklace that both had a small silver fleur de lis hanging from them and a pair of pearl and blue topaz drop earrings. The shop keeper had asked who he was buying for and he'd said 'the wife' earning a laugh from Ric and the shop keeper grinned and praised him for being thoughtful.

Ric wanted to explore New Orleans so Damon reluctantly went with him. He really just wanted to get the drinking started but was trying to get on Ric's good side so he didn't complain... much. They went to the tourist places and the historical sites and anything else Alaric could think of to delay the drinking. Around 7pm Alaric figured he couldn't really delay the drinking much longer so the two of them went to dinner on Bourbon Street then ended up in a bar around the corner from their hotel.

Damon talked to Caroline a couple of times during the day and she gave him updates even though he didn't ask and they arranged that she would meet up with them the day after they were in Houston so Damon just had to decide where that would be. They decided to meet up in Dallas, Texas and Damon told her not to bring too much stuff since there wasn't much room left in the car. He said that she could leave the rest of her stuff at the boarding house in case her mother decided to throw all her stuff out or something and she happily accepted. Caroline was so excited about meeting up with them that Damon couldn't help being a little happy about it himself.

When the boys finally found themselves a bar, Damon noticed after a couple of hours that Ric was taking it easy on the booze.

"You don't feel like drinking tonight?" Damon asked curiously and Ric shrugged.

"Sure. I just don't feel like getting drunk." Ric replied. Damon was happily buzzed and getting drunker by the minute. He hadn't been taking it easy – if anything, he was drinking heavier than before.

"Why not?" Damon asked cocking an eyebrow at Ric.

"I'm still hung over from last night." Ric replied.

"You haven't mentioned anything from last night, you know." Damon pointed out and Ric sighed.

"I'm fuzzy on the details." Ric mumbled and Damon laughed.

"Liar." Damon smirked.

"I didn't get much sleep last night so I'm pretty tired. I'm going to head back. Night." Ric said then hurried out of the bar.

"Oh, no. You don't get to run this time, Saltzman." Damon muttered to himself then downed his drink.

* * *

><p>Ric hurried out of the bar and slipped down an alley that would take him to the hotel quicker than going around the block. He walked and noticed in the night air maybe he was a little tipsy. He realised that he was being a bit of a coward considering he <em>had<em> kissed back the night before and obviously Damon needed a bit of liquid courage to bring it up and he'd just ignored him... He felt kind of bad about that. But it's not like he could go back to the bar after his dramatic exit.

Then he was pinned to the wall of the alley.

"Jesus Christ, Damon! You gave me a heart attack!" Ric yelled and Damon smirked.

"I can hear your heart and its beating fine." Damon pointed out and Ric rolled his eyes.

"Why am I pinned to the wall, Damon?" Ric asked.

"You said I wasn't your type but you _were_ attracted to me last night." Damon pointed out. Alaric really didn't know what to say to that.

"It was a dare, Damon. Everyone kisses back on dares." Ric said and even he knew that was a majorly lame response but Damon just laughed.

"Why are you lying?" Damon asked curiously and Ric rolled his eyes.

"If you're hell bent on talking about this, can I at least not be pushed against a wall please?" Ric asked annoyed and Damon took a step back and folded his arms across his chest.

"You're not against the wall." Damon said and Ric chuckled.

"What's this really about? Is this just because you're being denied something you've taken curiosity in?" Ric asked and Damon rolled his eyes.

"You know fine well that it's not." Damon said.

"Do I?" Ric asked surprised by his answer and Damon sighed.

"You said it isn't because I'm a vampire, so what is it? You can't say that you didn't feel some kind of attraction when I kissed you because I know you did." Damon replied.

"We're talking in circles." Ric muttered.

"Then give me a real answer." Damon said a little softer.

"I would give you a real answer if I thought this wasn't just some new fascination you've built up." Ric replied.

"Fine. Ric, this isn't about just taking a guy for a test drive anymore." Damon admitted.

"Then what is it about?" Ric asked surprised.

"I'm attracted to you obviously." Damon said dryly and Ric sighed. He had no idea what to do about this.

"You're going to have one of two reactions if we go there. You're either going to hate it or love it and honestly, I don't know which one would be better. You're not going to think it's just okay. If you hate it, things could be ridiculously awkward between us and I really don't want that since we're friends. If you love it – I have no idea what to do in that situation." Ric said.

"Well, if the noises that Luke guy was making are anything to go by, I doubt I'll hate it." Damon said.

"You don't even know what I was doing." Ric muttered and Damon chuckled.

"Why don't you tell me then?" Damon asked curiously.

"Fine. I was screwing him." Ric blurted.

"Doesn't that... hurt?" Damon asked confused.

"A little at first." Ric nodded. "But after that... that's what Luke was yelling about." Ric crossed his own arms over his chest.

"Do you like that?" Damon asked.

"I don't do that." Ric replied and Damon looked surprised.

"Why not?" Damon asked.

"I had a bad experience once and I'll never do that again unless I trust the person completely." Ric replied immediately. Damon was beginning to understand that Ric didn't want to sleep with him because he didn't want that done to him and he no doubt thought Damon would want to.

"Fair enough." Damon nodded. "What's good about it?" Damon asked and Ric shrugged.

"Well, in my experience if done properly, there isn't a better orgasm than a prostate orgasm." Ric replied and Damon looked surprised.

"Why's that?" Damon asked curiously.

"I imagine it's like the difference between a g-spot orgasm and a clit orgasm for a woman." Ric replied and Damon's eyes widened. He'd given plenty of girls g-spot orgasms before and he'd always been jealous that women could feel pleasure like that and he couldn't.

"Well that sounds... interesting." Damon admitted and Ric laughed.

"You do realise we're standing discussing this in an alley." Ric pointed out and Damon laughed at the realisation.

"I've been trying to get you to talk about this for days, I don't care that we're in an alley." Damon shrugged and Ric sighed. "If I swore not to do that, would it make a difference?" Damon asked and Ric looked surprised.

"Maybe." Ric replied hesitantly.

"I already said I wouldn't bite you." Damon pointed out and Ric rolled his eyes.

"The biting doesn't bother me." Ric said and Damon looked stunned.

"It doesn't?" Damon asked.

"No, I told you it doesn't have anything to do with the fact you're a vampire." Ric said.

"Then what does it have to do with?" Damon asked.

"You're... you." Ric said rolling his eyes at his stupid answer. "I still can't believe you compelled that dare." Ric said and Damon chuckled.

"Would you have kissed me back if I'd just done it without the dare?" Damon asked curiously and Ric shrugged.

"I don't know." Ric replied.

"Want to find out?" Damon asked cocking an eyebrow. Ric really didn't know what to reply to that. He wanted to say yes. He wanted to say no. He was really confused about the whole thing.

"Why me?" Ric asked.

"I told you I'm attracted to you." Damon said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Since when?" Ric asked.

"Since I saw you in the black t-shirt at the hotel bar the other day." Damon replied.

"But how is that possible?" Ric asked.

"Did you know from the time you were a kid that you swung both ways?" Damon asked.

"Well, no. I didn't figure it out until I started college." Alaric admitted.

"So, don't you think it's possible that I could be attracted to you?" Damon asked and Ric sighed.

"Fine, I'll think about this." Ric nodded.

"You have been thinking about it already." Damon pointed out

"What are you hoping to accomplish from this?" Ric asked.

"What do you mean?" Damon asked confused.

"You're putting a hell of a lot of effort into a one night stand." Ric said and Damon laughed.

"I highly doubt with us it would be a one night stand." Damon smirked.

"How so?" Ric asked surprised.

"Well, we're friends so... if it worked... we could be 'special friends'." Damon said thinking back to when Rose said that.

"You don't think that would be awkward?" Ric asked curiously and Damon smirked. Before Ric could register his back was against the wall again and Damon's face was inches from his.

"No." Damon smirked then closed the distance.


	6. Houston, TX

I don't own The Vampire Diaries, I'm just a fan :)

* * *

><p>Unlikely<p>

Chapter 6

* * *

><p>Time seemed to slow down for Ric. He could see that Damon was half a second away from kissing him. He was excited and terrified all at once. Damon had his hands resting on either side of Ric's arms. Ric knew that if he kissed back this time... He knew where it would lead.<p>

"Stop." Ric said just in time and Damon pulled back and let him go with an annoyed huff.

"Why?" Damon asked.

"Because I will kiss you back." Ric replied and Damon looked surprised.

"So what's the problem?" Damon asked.

"I'm not drunk enough if this is going down." Ric said and Damon looked really surprised.

"What are you saying?" Damon asked with a smirk.

"I'm saying give me half an hour to down some whiskey first." Ric replied. "And stop pinning me to walls." Ric chastised and Damon chuckled.

"I thought you were hung over still from last night?" Damon asked.

"I am but you're obviously not going to let this go tonight." Ric shrugged.

"Were you actually serious when you said you were tired?" Damon asked surprised and Ric chuckled.

"Yes." He nodded. "If you're serious about this you either have to give me half an hour to go drink or wait until tomorrow." Ric folded his arms over his chest again. Damon seemed to think it over.

"Alright. Tomorrow." Damon said and Ric was internally sighing in relief. He really was tired and would probably be crap if they were going through with it tonight.

"Fine." Ric nodded and Damon smirked.

"Night, Ric." Damon winked then disappeared. Ric laughed a little at his sudden disappearance then walked back to the hotel wondering what the hell just happened.

* * *

><p>Ric woke up in the morning wondering how he agreed to this. He was really looking forward to it which freaked him out a little. How did he go from being completely against it to being for it? Oh, that's right... because it's Damon freaking Salvatore, that's why. Ric rolled his eyes. He'd been seduced by Damon. It was ridiculous. It did cross his mind to disappear but he kind of didn't want to. Ugh. Typical. He rolled his eyes again then got out of bed. He had a quick shower and got dressed then grabbed his bag and left the room. He was starving and he remembered somewhere from the day before that looked good and he hoped it was open considering it was only 8am. He'd just gotten out of the hotel when he heard Damon.<p>

"Ric?" Ric turned around and saw Damon coming out of the hotel.

"Hey." Ric said with a small smile.

"Where you going?" Damon asked curiously.

"Breakfast. I noticed this little deli yesterday when we were shopping for Caroline that looked really good." He shrugged and Ric was surprised to see Damon look a little relieved at his answer. "You coming?" Ric asked. "I'm starving." He said and Damon smirked.

"Alright." Damon nodded. "Why do you have your bag?" Damon asked.

"I figured you'd be up by the time I got back and it would save me going back up to the room again." Ric shrugged then the two of them started to walk. "How long will it take to get to Houston?" Ric asked curiously.

"About five hours probably." Damon replied. "You still want to go to that museum?" Damon asked and Ric nodded.

"It would be cool." Ric grinned and Damon chuckled.

"Is there anywhere else you want to go after we pick Barbie up from Dallas?" Damon asked.

"Roswell could be cool." Ric said with a grin and Damon laughed. "Maybe Salt Lake City." Ric shrugged.

* * *

><p>Ric was surprised how normally Damon was acting. Things weren't weird between them. Of course they weren't talking about the alley discussion so that could have been why it wasn't weird. Damon didn't bring it up once the entire way to Houston. When they got there, they went to the museum and Ric was surprised that Damon gave him comments about his personal experiences of the War while looking at certain things. He told a few stories and Ric was fascinated. He guessed that Damon was opening up a little because he trusted Ric now. He'd admitted that he trusted him. Ric was starting to think that Damon changed his mind about them since he hadn't mentioned it or indicated to it in any way. They were acting completely normally and Ric was in two minds about it. Ric figured that Damon had changed his mind or he was trying to show Ric that things wouldn't be weird. Both options were fine with Ric now. If this was how things would be with them if they did go through with it, maybe it would be okay. Either that or Damon didn't feel comfortable talking about it when he was sober. Ric didn't know or care because he was having a great time. Damon wasn't even complaining about how long they had been in the museum. Originally, Ric had every intention of going to the museum alone because he figured maybe it would make Damon uncomfortable or it would bring back bad memories for him but he seemed unaffected by it.<p>

After the museum, they went back to the hotel and Ric ordered room service. Damon stayed with him in his room so he could snack on whoever brought the food. They'd done that several times since they started the trip and it didn't remotely faze Ric. After they'd eaten, Ric had a shower and got dressed for a bar as did Damon and the two of them met down in the lobby. Ric had more or less forgotten all about their conversation the night before because they'd had a good time with each other all day and it didn't seem like it was heading in that direction and there was no awkwardness.

They went to a bar around the corner from the hotel. They sat drinking and Alaric noticed that Damon was ignoring anyone that came up to talk to him. He knew Damon was hard to read and an all around kind of weirdo but he really couldn't keep up with what was happening. One minute he acted like he was really interested then the next he didn't care. Ric was getting a headache from it all. He was over thinking this. He rolled his eyes and downed his drink then ordered another and Damon cocked an eyebrow at him but didn't say anything. They were in quite a trendy bar for a change and a girl asked Ric to dance so he went. He was feeling pretty drunk at this point and was twirling her and talking and laughing. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Damon leave the bar alone looking annoyed. That was when Ric realised he wanted Damon. He thanked the girl for the dance.

He went up to the bar ordered three shots of vodka and downed them quickly then put his jacket on and left the bar. He realised he couldn't really walk in a straight line but figured that would be a good thing. His nerves about Damon weren't present because of how drunk he was. He walked back to the hotel and went into his room and dumped his jacket. Damon's room was down the hall. He took a deep breath then left his room, walked down to Damon's and knocked. Moments later Damon opened and looked surprised.

"Why'd you leave?" Ric asked confused.

"Felt like it." Damon shrugged like he didn't have a care. Ric sighed and thought that Damon was just shutting him out again and there was no point in arguing.

"Alright." Ric nodded then turned on his heels and started to walk down the hall when Damon appeared in front of him.

"I left because I thought you changed your mind." Damon admitted reluctantly.

"I was only dancing." Ric smirked.

"So you didn't change your mind?" Damon asked confused.

"No." Ric shook his head.

"Good." Damon grinned then stepped closer.

"Now before you start the wall pinning, let's get out of the hallway." Ric said and Damon chuckled then grabbed Ric's arm and towed him into Damon's room. Damon did push him against the wall after he got the door closed just because it annoyed him then he smirked. He crashed his lips to Ric's and Ric pulled him closer. Their kisses got heated quickly and soon Damon was unbuttoning Ric's shirt. Though Ric was drunk, he didn't want to put any pressure on Damon so he let Damon make the moves first. Damon got Ric's shirt off then pulled his own over his head then returned to kissing him. Damon kicked his boots off without stopping their kiss while Ric ran his hands over Damon's muscled sides earning a shiver from Damon. Ric got his own shoes off then manoeuvred Damon over to the bed and pushed him down on it. Damon moved backwards until he was fully on it and Ric climbed up on top of him then kissed him again. Damon held onto him tightly. Ric was past the point of caring now so he quickly unbuttoned Damon's jeans and yanked them off leaving him in his boxers. He did the same with his own jeans then the two of them were pressed against each other. Ric could feel that Damon was rock hard against him but he wanted to make sure. "You alright?" He whispered after he pulled away from their kiss.

"Mmhmm." Damon smirked.

"What do you want?" Ric asked as he leaned down and nibbled Damon's neck earning a groan from Damon.

"I want the full experience." Damon said and Ric pulled up to look at him surprised.

"Are you sure?" Ric asked sceptically and Damon chuckled.

"Yes, I'm sure." Damon smirked.

"Alright." Ric shrugged then kissed him again. Damon held onto Ric's shoulder blades and deepened their kiss. Their tongues tasted each other and both men were surprised at how much they were enjoying the other. Ric slid his hand down Damon's chest then his stomach and Damon shuddered in anticipation then Ric tugged off Damon's boxers. He tossed them on the floor then ran his hand up Damon's thigh and Damon groaned into Ric's mouth when Ric finally grabbed his cock. He stroked expertly and Damon bit his lip but not hard enough to draw blood. Damon wasn't used to just lying there and having things done to him but in this situation he really wouldn't have the faintest idea what to do anyway so he just lay there and enjoyed Ric's expert touches. He felt like a virgin and found it very amusing considering he'd slept with thousands of women... Though none of them could jack him off like Ric could... Ric kept kissing and stroking Damon and got his own boxers off. He absently reached into his jeans pocket and took out his wallet. He kept a tiny bottle of lubricant in there and he managed to get it out without Damon noticing. He kept kissing and rubbing while he lathered himself up then he nudged Damon's legs open and knelt between them. Damon pulled away to look Ric deep in the eyes. "Do you trust me?" Ric whispered to him and Damon took a deep breath then nodded. "Then relax. It won't hurt if you relax." Ric promised.

"Just kiss me and I won't think about it." Damon said and Ric nodded then kissed him and Damon held him tightly to him. Truthfully, Damon was nervous. Ric lined himself up then moved forward slightly. He stroked Damon a little faster so that Damon would be distracted by that instead. He pushed in slowly and was thankful that Damon didn't tense up or seem to be in any pain. Ric had maybe gone a little overboard with the lubricant but he didn't want to hurt him. Soon he was fully inside but he didn't stop kissing or stroking. He moved slightly knowing exactly where the prostate was then pulled out and thrust gently. Damon was convinced he saw stars with that move and he moaned into Ric's mouth. Truthfully, it had stung a bit at first, but he'd been shot with wooden bullets before so this was no big deal. He had been sceptical until Ric moved a little and thrust... he completely understood the appeal then. Ric started to move a little faster and thrust a little harder but he knew himself he was being more careful than usual. He cared about Damon and since it was his first time with a guy, he wanted it to be good. He kept thrusting and using his hand and kissing Damon with all he had and was thoroughly enjoying himself. Damon was a hell of a kisser after all. After a few minutes Damon abruptly stopped kissing him and turned his head away from Ric and Ric stopped immediately. "Why'd you stop?" Damon asked.

"You okay?" Ric asked.

"My teeth came out." Damon admitted and Ric turned his face back with his free hand so that he could see Damon's vampire face.

"You have my permission to bite me. I know it makes it better for you." Ric said and Damon looked shocked. "So, just enjoy yourself, okay?" Ric asked and Damon nodded then Ric kissed him again and kept going. He slammed a little harder against Damon's prostate and Damon groaned.

"Fuck." He said and he couldn't contain himself anymore and Ric could see it so he turned his head to the side and Damon bit him. Ric was surprised at how gently Damon bit considering how worked up he was. Damon drank and Ric slammed and it was all too much and Damon came... Loudly. The tightening around Ric was all it took for him and he came too then slumped down on Damon. After a few seconds he pulled out and rolled to Damon's side and Damon stared at the ceiling. They were quiet for a few minutes while they came back down to earth. "Ric?" Damon asked in a whisper.

"Hmm?"

"I have never said this before." Damon said.

"What's that?" Ric asked curiously.

"That is the best orgasm I've ever had." Damon said stunned and Ric chuckled.

"Prostate orgasms are like that." Ric nodded.

"Can we do it again?" Damon smirked at him and Ric laughed.

"I'm human, dude. I'll need a few minutes." He said and Damon chuckled.

"You want some blood to heal that bite?" Damon asked softly.

"If you're serious and want to go again, we might as well wait until we're done." Ric smirked at him and Damon grinned.

"You really don't mind that I bit you?" Damon asked curiously and Ric shook his head.

"It's kind of hot." Ric admitted and Damon chuckled. He was really happy with that answer.

"Have you been bitten before?" He asked.

"Not like that." Ric replied and Damon smirked. "Don't you remember I was bitten when we went into the house full of vampires to get Stefan?" He asked.

"Oh, right." Damon nodded. "Can you tell me about your bad experience?" Damon asked softly and Ric sighed.

"I just slept with someone once that was much stronger physically than me and he was far too rough and wouldn't stop when I asked, so it put me off." Ric shrugged. That infuriated Damon beyond belief.

"Want me to kill him for you?" Damon asked curiously and Ric chuckled. Ric was actually touched that Damon would even say that.

"Sure, why not?" He smirked and Damon smiled softly at him.

"You said you wouldn't do it again unless you fully trusted someone... Think you'll ever trust me?" Damon asked almost shyly and Ric was surprised how soft his tone was. Ric had been a little afraid of Damon in the intimate sense before. That's why he'd been reluctant to sleep with him in the first place but after what they'd just done, he watched Damon put complete trust in him and didn't bite until he was told he could, even though Ric was completely vervain free, considering he was naked and his vervain was in his jeans pocket. He watched Damon be completely vulnerable in front of him and he would never forget that.

"I trust you already." Ric replied and Damon looked stunned. "I wouldn't have slept with you if I didn't." Ric admitted.

"Why?" Damon asked curiously.

"Because you're like 100 times stronger than me and I'm vervain free. You don't sleep with a vampire without vervain if you don't trust them." Ric smirked and Damon chuckled.

"Fair enough." Damon nodded then rolled on top of Alaric. "Think you can go again yet?" Damon asked with a smirk.

"For someone so old, you're really impatient." Ric said amused and Damon chuckled then kissed him. Ric deepened the kiss and allowed Damon's tongue to massage against his own. Even if he hadn't been ready to go again, he was sure that kissing Damon would have been enough to get him going again. Ric could feel Damon's hardness pressed against him and it spurred his own. He was soon fully hard again as well. Ric couldn't really think straight with the amazing way Damon was swirling his tongue in Ric's mouth as he could only imagine that skilled tongue somewhere else. Damon writhed against him a little and he couldn't help moaning into Damon's mouth a little at the friction against his cock. Damon then rolled them both over so that Ric was on top of Damon again and Ric pulled away to look at him. "I thought you wanted to..." Ric was silenced when Damon kissed him again then pulled away.

"You just admitted that you trust me. I'm not going to take advantage of that." Damon said sincerely and Ric blinked in surprise. If he hadn't trusted him before he definitely did now. "And now that I know what to expect, you don't have to go easy on me." Damon smirked and Ric smiled knowing Damon obviously knew he'd been taking it easy on him.

"Alright." Ric nodded then crashed his lips roughly to Damon's. He took hold of Damon's cock and started to massage his hand over the most sensitive part and Damon groaned at the feeling. Ric lubed himself up again and hitched Damon's legs around his waist without breaking their kiss. Damon was surprised how much he liked just going along for the ride instead of being the one always in control of a sexual situation. Ric did still enter him just as gently as he had the first time as he figured Damon's super healing would have made it the same as the first time again. After giving Damon's body a few minutes to adjust to his size, Ric thrust against the spot and Damon groaned. Damon locked his ankles behind Ric's back while holding Ric firmly against him as his hands wandered over Ric's back. Ric slowly increased his speed so that it wouldn't be a shock and soon he was slamming much faster and harder than he had the time before. Damon did notice that Ric was a little more forceful and a little rougher, but not too rough, so it was even better the second time. Ric hit his prostate every time and Damon moaned at each hit. Ric rubbed and thrust and kissed and Damon felt like every part of his body was turning to mush. Ric could feel Damon shaking beneath him and he understood what that meant. He pulled away from the kiss and exposed his neck and moments later, Damon bit him again. Ric hit the spot just as Ric's blood hit Damon's tongue and that was it for Damon and he came _loudly_ yet again. The tightening around Ric set off his own orgasm and Ric bit his lip to keep from calling out as he rode out one hell of an orgasm. When he was finished he rolled back to Damon's side.

"Fuck." Damon panted a little. "How was it possible to be better than the first time?" Damon asked Ric in disbelief and he chuckled.

"You told me not to go easy on you this time." Ric shrugged.

"I'm a vampire, Ric. You don't ever have to go easy on me." Damon smirked and Ric smiled.

"Fair enough." Ric nodded. He was starting to get tired now. Though that could be the blood loss. Damon seemed to notice as he bit into his wrist and held it out in front of Ric. Ric took it without thinking and drank down a few mouthfuls then pulled away. "Thanks." Ric said.

"Thanks for letting me bite you." Damon said and Ric chuckled.

"I think 'letting' is the wrong word, Damon." Ric smirked.

"How so?" Damon asked confused.

"If I hadn't agreed, it's not like I could stop you." Ric said amused and Damon rolled his eyes.

"You're not just some feed'n'fuck, dude." Damon muttered. "It's not like I would feed from you without your permission." He said.

"Isn't it crap for you if you don't?" Ric asked curiously and Damon shrugged.

"It feels unfinished but it's not 'crap' per se." Damon said.

"Is it normal that I enjoyed that part too?" Ric asked and Damon smiled widely. He was really glad that Ric enjoyed it.

"If done properly, it's completely normal." Damon nodded. "I'm told it can intensity orgasms for the human." Damon said.

"Yeah, I saw that." Ric replied. "Are you happy you tried it?" Ric asked and Damon chuckled.

"Ric... I'm just kicking myself that I've been missing out on that for over a century." Damon said and Ric laughed. "Uh... are we going to do it again?" Damon asked and Ric chuckled.

"Damon, I really don't think I can go again tonight." Ric said and Damon shook his head.

"No, I don't mean tonight. I mean other nights." Damon said.

"Oh." Ric said a little surprised. "If you want to." Ric nodded.

"Didn't you enjoy yourself?" Damon asked him almost shyly. Ric was kind of stunned yet again of this side of Damon he was seeing but he tried not to let his surprise show.

"Of course I enjoyed myself. But it's up to you because it's not new for me." Ric said and Damon nodded. "You might feel differently about this once you sober up." Ric said.

"Honestly... I am mostly sober. I didn't drink that much tonight." Damon said and Ric was quite surprised by that. "That and drinking any blood basically removes the effects of alcohol."

"And you're not... weirded out at all?" Ric asked curiously and Damon chuckled.

"No." Damon said. "Though, I have to admit, I might be if it was anyone else." He said and Ric seemed to understand what Damon wasn't saying... Damon hadn't wanted to just sleep with a guy. Damon had wanted to sleep with _him_ specifically.

"Alright, well, what do you want?" Ric asked.

"What do you mean?" Damon asked a little confused.

"Do you want to keep having sex or do you want to just leave it as an experiment?" Ric asked him while looking him in the eyes.

"I want to keep doing it." Damon replied a little self consciously. "Do you?" Damon asked.

"Yes." Ric nodded because it was true. He wasn't going to tell Damon, but it was amazing. The whole experience was amazing. Damon smiled at that.

"Why didn't you want to at first?" Damon asked softly. Ric wasn't sure if he wanted to answer that or not.

"You want a completely honest answer?" Ric asked and Damon nodded. "I kind of expected you to be... I thought it might be..." Ric couldn't seem to find the right words.

"You thought I might be rough and aggressive in bed." Damon said and Ric nodded. "It's probably the only area in my life where I don't tend to like that." Damon explained. "Biting is probably as aggressive as I ever get in bed." Damon admitted. "And even then I try to do it gently most of the time." Damon said. That was true. Sometimes he did bite viciously but that was extremely rare. Usually only if he was furious or hurt about something.

"Is that why you got pissed off about that loon chick using a whip?" Ric asked.

"I was pissed off about her doing the whole s&m thing against your will... but my father used to whip me so that's why I was furious about it." Damon admitted and Ric was surprised that Damon would tell him that. Yet another thing they kind of had in common.

"I get it." Ric whispered and Damon snapped his head to look at him.

"What do you mean?" Damon asked cautiously and Ric sighed.

"I mean, I ran away from home when I was fifteen and lived in a homeless shelter until I was eighteen to get away from my father." Ric said and Damon's jaw dropped. "Fathers are a sore spot."

"What happened?" Damon asked.

"My mother died when I was eleven and my father started drinking heavily after that. He used to beat the crap out of me until one day when I was fifteen and he cracked me over the head with a beer bottle and that was the last straw. I punched him in the face as hard as I could and because he was so wasted it knocked him out. I grabbed anything in the house that was important to me as well as some clothes and I left and never looked back." Ric shrugged. "I got on a greyhound bus and took it from Arizona to Maryland and went to a homeless shelter. I told them basics of what happened and they went to the police. I filed for emancipation and it was granted because there were records of me being hospitalized a bunch of times from severe beatings. The court ordered my dad to put a lump sum of money into an account for me for when I turned eighteen and I lived at the shelter." Ric shrugged. "Though I didn't touch that money." Ric said.

"What did you do with it?" Damon asked curiously.

"When I was eighteen I donated it to the shelter I'd lived in." Ric said. "I didn't want anything from that creep and I figured the money would be better spent helping other kids in similar situations." Damon let that sink in for a moment... Sounded like their fathers would have gotten along swimmingly.

"Want me to kill him for you?" Damon asked and Ric chuckled.

"Remember I said you don't live long enough to hate someone?" Ric asked softly.

"You hate him." Damon whispered.

"I hate him." Ric nodded. "I hate that I hate him though. I just wish I could not care. That would be better." Ric said.

"I still hate my father and he's been dead since the day I turned." Damon said. "A parent's job is to look after you so when they are the complete opposite... it's not something you can forget." Damon said.

"When did you start being wise?" Ric smirked and Damon chuckled. "What do you mean he's been dead since then? Did you kill him?" Ric asked and Damon shook his head.

"Stefan did. That's how Stefan turned into a vampire. He went to say goodbye because we were both going to let ourselves die but our father tried to stake him and Stefan pushed him and our stupid father ended up with the stake in his stomach. So, blood everywhere, Stefan turned." Damon said. "Which was better than if I killed him because Stefan was the apple of his eye. He was the beloved son that my father was so proud of. So my father died knowing that it was not the bad son, but the beloved son who killed him and turned into what he hated most." Damon smirked. "I kind of want to see him again just to say 'Ha ha!'." Damon said and Ric laughed.

"Think you would have killed him in Stefan hadn't?" Ric asked curiously and Damon sighed.

"I'd like to say yes, just because he was a major douche... but no. The only thing I ever wanted from my father was his approval so I wouldn't have hurt him." Damon shook his head. "I went to the army because I thought he would be proud. My first leave of absence I went home and I'd become the youngest ranked 1st lieutenant in the Virginian battalions and the only thing he asked was why wasn't I a captain yet." Damon muttered. "There were other guys my age in Mystic Falls that enlisted at the same time as me and they weren't ranked higher than a sergeant, but were mostly corporals, but my father couldn't see that I'd actually done something kind of awesome." Damon said. Ric felt really touched that Damon could open up to him like this.

"Fathers." Ric muttered. "Who needs them?" He asked and Damon chuckled.

"My sentiments exactly." Damon smirked.

"Did you rank up to a captain?" Ric asked and Damon nodded.

"I ranked up to a sergeant major actually." Damon said amused. "Then I deserted." He said. "At that point I was like 'fuck you, dad, I'm not shooting anymore Northerners in this pointless war'." Damon said. "Probably a good thing I turned into a vampire because I would no doubt have been hanged for treason." Damon chuckled and Ric smirked.

"Why did you really desert?" Ric asked and Damon sighed.

"You're far too perceptive." Damon muttered. "I deserted because I ordered my men to fire and one of them hit a kid who couldn't have been more than about ten or twelve. That night I slipped away in the middle of the night and never went back." He admitted.

"That's not your fault, Damon." Ric said sincerely and Damon shrugged.

"Doesn't change the fact a little boy died because of something I ordered." Damon said. "I might not have done the actual shooting but my hand is in that." Damon said. "I've never even killed a kid as a vampire... you know, as much as this is seriously terrible pillow talk..." Damon smirked and Ric chuckled. "It's nice to be able to talk like this." Damon admitted.

"You can talk to me about anything, Damon." Ric said sincerely.

"I know." Damon nodded. "That's the crazy thing about it. I actually do trust you."

"You're the only person I ever told about my dad." Ric said and Damon looked shocked. "The shelter knew basics about it, but anyone else just thinks my dad died when I was fifteen." Ric said.

"I won't tell anyone." Damon said immediately.

"I know." Ric replied and Damon smiled.


	7. Dallas, TX

I don't own The Vampire Diaries, I'm just a fan :)

* * *

><p><strong>What did everyone think of that one shot I suggested? If you missed that its by Ellen Smithee and it's called 'Get Me to the Church'. Read it. You won't regret it :D<strong>

* * *

><p>Unlikely<p>

Chapter 7

* * *

><p>Ric's eyes fluttered open and he saw Damon passed out next to him out of the corner of his eye. He wasn't remotely hung over. He figured it was Damon's blood that fixed that. Ric felt sweaty and sticky and really wanted a shower so he got up as quietly as he could and pulled his clothes on then crept out of Damon's room. He was surprised that Damon didn't wake up but it was early in the morning and they'd talked for a long time before they passed out. Ric wasn't really much of a sleeper in general though. He was surprised at just how open Damon had been as he'd told him things that he was sure nobody else knew about. Ric knew that wanting a shower wasn't the only reason he'd hightailed it out of Damon's room. He needed some time to think. Because it was Damon, sex hadn't been like a one night stand. They'd been with each other practically the whole time since they left Mystic Falls and Ric felt that when they'd kissed and slept together, it didn't feel like just sex. That freaked him out a little because he didn't want to develop feelings for Damon as he was sure he'd never return them. He didn't have feelings for him yet but he figured he probably could develop them easily if he wasn't careful. He hurried down the hall and let himself into his room then stripped off and got into the shower.<p>

* * *

><p>Damon woke up minutes later and rolled over. He was surprised to see the other side of the bed empty as Ric had passed out before he did. He wasn't really sure how to feel about that. One, he clearly slept far too deeply for his own good since Ric had clearly gotten up and left without him hearing that. Two, he wasn't too sure how to act around Ric now. They'd agreed to keep having sex but he wasn't sure if that meant they were having like a 'thing' or if it meant they were just friends who sometimes have sex. That kind of freaked him out a little because he realised that he wanted them to have a 'thing'... he realised that he felt something for Ric. Though he'd known that since they were in Biloxi as he'd felt something when they kissed and it wasn't just an attraction. Then he wondered why Ric split from his room. He was wondering if now Ric was sober, he regretted what they did. He rolled his eyes at himself. Ric wouldn't have agreed to keep having sex if he regretted it. He wouldn't have done it twice if the first time wasn't any good. Ric's room was just down the hall so Damon focused his hearing and heard a shower running in that direction. Maybe he just left to have a shower.<p>

* * *

><p>Ric had a long shower as he thought about everything. When he was finished he got dressed in clean clothes and realised that he was going to have to find like a Laundromat or something in the next few days or he'd have nothing clean to wear soon. He figured he could do that in Dallas while Damon picked up Caroline from the airport. He put together his stuff then left the room to go down and get breakfast. When he got there he was surprised to see Damon sitting with a coffee reading the paper. He went over and sat across from him.<p>

"I can't really say you're like a cat." Damon smirked at him and Ric laughed at the memory.

"I don't know, I managed to not wake you when I left your room." Ric teased and Damon rolled his eyes.

"You may have a point, Saltzman." Damon said and Ric smiled.

"By the way, how long will it take to drive to Dallas?" Ric asked curiously.

"About four and a half hours, why?" He asked.

"Because I need to find like a Laundromat or something." Ric said and Damon nodded.

"We could just stay at one of the bigger hotels in Dallas and use the laundry service." He shrugged.

"That's probably a good idea." Ric nodded. "I'm kind of terrible at laundry." He said and Damon chuckled.

"Where do you want to go after Dallas? After our chat last night, I gather you don't want to go to Arizona." Damon said softly and Ric shrugged.

"It's been thirteen years since I was there. I should probably find out what happened to him." Ric said. "I've always wanted to go back because I don't have any pictures of my mom."

"I can go if you don't want to see him." Damon said and Ric smiled.

"Thank you for saying that but it's okay, I'm 28 years old. I'm not scared of my dad anymore." Ric said and Damon nodded. "But..." Ric cleared his throat. "Uh... could you still come with me?" Ric asked awkwardly and Damon smiled.

"Of course." Damon nodded. "Where in Arizona?" He asked.

"Flagstaff." Ric said.

"Were you serious about going to Roswell?" Damon asked and Ric laughed.

"It would be cool but we don't have to stay there. We could just drive through." Ric shrugged and Damon nodded.

"We could stay in Lubbock then drive through Roswell on the way to Santa Rosa." Damon suggested and Ric nodded.

"Cool, sounds good." Ric smiled then a waitress came over and he ordered coffee and breakfast.

"Then from Santa Rosa we could go to Winslow if you don't want to stay in Flagstaff over night." Damon said and Ric nodded.

"I don't want to stay there over night. I just want to drive through, get a few pictures of my mom then leave again." Ric said.

"We can do that." Damon nodded. "Do you want to go to Vegas from there?" Damon asked and Ric grinned.

"Hell yeah." Ric smiled and Damon chuckled. "Actually, we should stay there for two nights. You know Caroline will want to go to a show or shopping or something." Ric said and Damon rolled his eyes at that.

"I am up for two nights in Vegas but shopping in Vegas wasn't exactly what I had in mind." Damon pointed out and Ric laughed.

"Yeah, me neither, but she's going to have to put up with all our drinking so we can compromise a little." Ric said and Damon chuckled.

"Fine." Damon sighed. "I should really call the wife and find out when her flight gets in." Damon said and Ric laughed.

"You do that." Ric said and Damon pulled out his phone and dialled her number. She answered almost immediately.

"_Hey!_" She answered and Damon smirked.

"Hey, you all packed?" Damon asked amused.

"_What do you think?_" She giggled and he smiled. He was actually looking forward to seeing her.

"Isn't your flight soon? You'll have to hurry up." He said.

"_I know, I know. I'm so looking forward to seeing you!_" She said and Damon smiled.

"You too, Barbie." He said and he could practically hear her grinning on the other side of the phone.

"_Really?_" She asked so happily Damon couldn't help chuckling a little at that.

"Yeah, but remember there isn't that much space in the car left and if you're going to shop, you'll have to leave space." Damon said.

"_Okay, I'll try to remember that._" She giggled.

"When does your flight get into Dallas?" Damon asked.

"_4.45pm. You're picking me up, right?_" She asked.

"Mmhmm." Damon replied.

"_Damon, you promise? I really don't want to fly all the way to Texas to be stood up._" She said and he felt bad that he'd been so crap to her that she would think he might do that to her.

"I swear I'll be there, Caroline." Damon said sincerely.

"_Okay. Is there anything from the boarding house that you need? Did you forget anything?_" She asked and he smiled. How could he have ever been mean to her? She was just so nice.

"No, I have everything. Thank you for asking though." Damon said and Ric smiled at him for being nice.

"_You're welcome. I'll see you soon then. Say hi to Ric for me._" She said and he chuckled.

"I will." He said.

"_Bye, Damon._" She said.

"Bye, Barbie." He replied then she hung up.

"What did she say before that made you make the guilty face?" Ric asked him curiously and Damon cocked an eyebrow at him.

"The guilty face?" Damon asked and Ric chuckled.

"Yeah, you make this face when you feel bad about something." Ric said and Damon smirked at him for knowing him that well.

"She asked me to promise I wouldn't stand her up at the airport." Damon said and Ric nodded in understanding. "She says hi, by the way." Damon smirked.

"I like Caroline. She's a nice girl." Ric nodded. "Are we going to say something to her?" Ric asked Damon curiously. Damon was surprised at Ric's question but happy that he'd brought it up.

"What would we even say?" Damon shrugged. He really wanted Ric's answer to that.

"What do you mean?" Ric asked surprised.

"Well, we haven't even discussed this really with each other so there's no point in bringing Barbie into it." Damon said and Ric felt even more confused than before.

"Uh... okay." Ric said and Damon chuckled. "Do you want to discuss it?" Ric asked and Damon shrugged. "What part do you want to talk about?" Ric asked.

"Is it like a 'thing' or is it like a 'special friends' arrangement?" Damon asked curiously as he sipped his coffee. Ric couldn't help chuckling a little at Damon's choice of words. "What's funny?" Damon asked annoyed.

"It's just your choice of terms." Ric smiled. "So are you asking if I want to be more than friends with benefits?" He asked curiously and Damon nodded. "You'd be open to that?" Ric asked surprised and Damon just shrugged in response. That made Ric want to laugh again because Damon was clearly awkward when it came to anything with any kinds of feelings involved. "Damon, Jenna just died. I know you have feelings for Elena. I'm not saying that I wouldn't be open to that, but we both need some time, so can we just see how it goes?" Ric asked and Damon thought about that for a minute. Ric was his best friend and he wouldn't want to fuck that up by making him his rebound from Elena and he definitely didn't want to be Ric's rebound from Jenna so that was a good idea.

"Your logic makes sense." Damon smirked.

"Besides, we're going up against Klaus again soon." Ric said and Damon understood that Ric didn't want to start something with him, just for him to die and he'd end up in the same situation again.

"So maybe after Klaus?" Damon asked.

"After Klaus." Ric nodded. "We can talk about it again then." He said.

"Alright." Damon agreed.

* * *

><p>It ended up taking them five hours to drive from Houston to the hotel in Dallas. They went in, reserved three rooms then handed over all of their laundry to be done for the morning. Damon made sure that Ric's room was on a different floor and Ric chuckled when Damon told him that. Ric understood then that Damon wanted him that night as well and he didn't think he'd ever been pursued like that before. It kind of made his stomach flutter a little but he tried not to think about that... without much success considering that morning when he'd been worried about possibly developing feelings for Damon, he didn't think Damon would ever be able to feel something back but Damon obviously did feel something back... so Ric couldn't stop thinking about it. He figured maybe he did feel something back already which was stupid because Damon was reckless and he'd already survived Klaus once and Ric didn't think the odds were good to survive Klaus twice. He couldn't go through it again. He couldn't feel for yet another vampire for them to just die. So, he decided that he'd have to squash his feelings until the Klaus debacle was over with. If Damon survived that, he'd consider something more with him.<p>

They had an afternoon drink in the hotel then drove to the airport to pick Caroline up. They went to the arrivals lounge and waited for her. They watched the notification and saw that her flight was in so she would be out soon.

"You look really happy right now." Ric teased and Damon smirked at him.

"Who knew I'd miss Vampire Barbie?" Damon asked and Ric smiled. "But don't tell her that." Damon warned.

"Why not? That would make her so happy." Ric smiled and Damon rolled his eyes.

"Because then she'll think I give a crap and I don't." Damon shrugged and Ric laughed.

"Right." Ric smirked. "Do you believe the crap you spout?" Ric asked him and Damon laughed at Ric being so blunt.

"Someone has to." Damon winked and Ric laughed. "I have an idea." Damon grinned and Ric rolled his eyes knowing it would be stupid.

"What's that?" Ric asked curiously.

"Let's go hide behind that pillar." Damon pointed to a large pillar next to them.

"Why?" Ric laughed.

"Because, she'll come out, totally think I ditched her then when she makes that cute little pouty face we can jump out and surprise her." Damon smirked and Ric chuckled.

"You're so mean." Ric laughed.

"Yeah I know, but it'll be funny. C'mon." Damon grabbed his arm and towed him behind the pillar. The two of them stood peeking out on either side so they could see the arrivals door but she wouldn't see them. She came out a few minutes later and Damon grinned at the sight of her. He was pleased to see only one suitcase – sure it was a _big_ suitcase – but still only one. Ric saw Damon's happy face at the sight of his 'wife' and he was glad she was joining them. She came out with a smile on her face and started to look around and soon her smile fell and she rolled her eyes causing Damon to chuckle a little. Damon nudged Ric and he turned to look at Damon. "Watch this." Damon whispered very quietly into Ric's ear. Damon peeked around the side again. "Caroline." He whispered then jumped behind the pillar. Ric saw her snap her head to the side and look around a bit and he laughed at Damon's juvenile behaviour but had to admit it was nice seeing him carefree and relaxed instead of his usual 'too cool' behaviour. Ric nudged him then because she looked a little upset so Damon rolled his eyes and nodded. They both poked their heads out on either side of the pillar. "Barbie?" Damon said with a smirk and she turned her head to see Damon's head on one side and Ric's on the other side of the pillar and she laughed.

"I thought I heard my name before." She said with a smile and Damon walked out with a chuckle and surprised her by giving her a hug which she returned happily. Alaric came out behind Damon and she hugged him too.

"It was his idea." Ric said to her and she giggled.

"Yeah, I figured." She smiled and Damon rolled his eyes.

"You gave me the idea by thinking I'd stand you up." Damon smirked at her and she shrugged.

"It's you. It's not impossible." She pointed out and Ric laughed.

"Are you kidding? Damon's totally been standing here with a grin on his face for the last twenty minutes since your flight landed." Ric teased and Damon scowled at him making him laugh. "He bought you a present and everything." Ric smirked at her. She blinked in surprise then smiled at Damon.

"Really?" She asked a little shocked and Damon huffed.

"Let's just get out of here." Damon muttered then took her suitcase and walked away and Ric laughed.

"Really." Ric winked at Caroline who giggled then they followed Damon to the car. He'd put her suitcase in the trunk by the time they got there since all of their stuff was in the hotel. Caroline got into the backseat and Ric got into the front then they drove out of the parking lot. "How was your flight?" Ric asked her curiously.

"It was great. The food was nice." She smiled.

"You didn't eat a stewardess, did you?" Damon smirked at her and she giggled.

"No, but I'll have to feed when we get to the hotel." She said and he nodded.

"We can eat room service when Ric orders dinner." Damon winked at her.

"Do you mean the person that brings the food?" She asked shocked and both men laughed.

"Yeah, Damon does that when I order." Ric nodded to her and her jaw dropped.

"You're okay with that?" She asked startled and Ric chuckled.

"Yeah, I don't mind." Ric smiled at her. "How much blood do you need every day?" Ric asked Damon curiously and he smirked.

"Why?" Damon asked cocking an eyebrow.

"I just haven't seen you drinking all that much. Do you feed more when I'm not there?" Ric asked and Damon shrugged.

"I don't need as much as Barbie does because I'm so old. Probably like two cups a day if I'm not eating human food." Damon replied. "More is better but I don't technically _need_ more." Damon said.

"Can you get full?" Ric asked curiously and Caroline was shocked at how open Damon was being about it as well as how cool Ric was about it.

"I don't know. I've never attempted to get full on blood." Damon smirked.

"So if you only need two cups how much does a just turned vampire need?" Ric asked and Damon shrugged.

"About half a person a day probably." Damon said and Ric nodded. "But the more bodies you drain as a young vampire, the more control you have as you age." Damon said. "It must be to do with that thing I told you about the last drops." He said.

"You should really find out what exactly he was telling you, you know." Ric smirked and Damon chuckled.

"I probably should stop getting so drunk when having serious conversations." Damon smiled and Ric laughed.

"Probably. There might be lots of stuff about being a vampire that you don't know because you weren't listening." Ric said and Damon laughed.

"I'm sure." Damon smirked.

"Does bagged blood have any impact on your strength because it isn't fresh?" Ric asked curiously and Damon nodded.

"You're at full strength after draining a couple of people but it doesn't last that long. Bagged stuff keeps you at say 50% strength if you drink enough of it. Drinking fresh without killing keeps you at about 75%. The Stefan diet keeps you at like 10%." Damon said and Ric nodded as he thought about that. Caroline was stunned that Damon would tell Ric stuff like that but she didn't want to say anything as she was learning about it too from their discussion.

"If everything with Klaus works out you really need to talk Stefan into changing his diet." Ric said shocking Caroline but Damon just nodded.

"Yeah, but that's easier said than done. Stefan always says to everyone else that he drinks animal blood because it's wrong to drink from humans but he doesn't actually think that. He just can't feed from a human without wanting to kill them." Damon shrugged. "Besides, I'm not going back to Mystic Falls and the first thing he'll want to do is go back to Elena so he can just keep going on the bunny diet until they either leave or break up." Damon said.

"You think they'll break up?" Caroline asked surprised finally breaking her silence.

"Well, Elena doesn't want to be a vampire so Stefan won't stick around just to have his heart broken." Damon shrugged.

"Why wouldn't she want to be a vampire though?" Caroline asked confused.

"Maybe she wants kids." Damon shrugged.

"Yeah, because continuing the Petrova line is such a good idea." Caroline said dryly and Damon laughed.

"I know, right?" He asked with a smirk.

"Wouldn't another doppelganger just be born eventually?" Ric asked and Damon nodded.

"Eventually, yeah." Damon said.

"It's kind of bad judgement to continue the line." Ric pointed out.

"Are you going to turn?" Caroline asked surprised that Ric would say something like that.

"Yeah, if the Klaus thing works out." Ric nodded.

"Awesome." Caroline smiled.

"Are you happy you turned?" Ric asked her and she nodded.

"Yeah, I am." She said.

* * *

><p>They gave Caroline her room key then went to the bar. Caroline wanted to go up and freshen up. After about half an hour at the bar, Damon decided he needed to talk to her and he wanted to give her the presents he got her so he left Ric at the bar and went up to his room then went to Caroline's room and knocked. She hurried to the door and opened it and he noticed she was obviously just out of the shower as she was in a robe.<p>

"Hey." She smiled.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Damon asked her and she nodded.

"Sure, come on in." She stepped aside and he walked in. Damon felt a little nervous as he wasn't usually one for talking about his feelings but this had to be done. "What's wrong?" She asked him softly when she noticed his conflicted expression.

"I'm sorry, Caroline." Damon said sincerely and she looked surprised. "I'm sorry for feeding from you and compelling you. I'm sorry I was such a crappy sire. I'm sorry I didn't take the time to get to know you from the beginning. I'm sorry that when I fed you my blood I didn't stay and watch you. I've cared about you for a while and I'm sorry I never showed it. I knew I cared about you from the time I heard the doctors say you were going to die and I'm sorry I tried to stake you after you turned. I just didn't want you to become like me." Damon said and her eyes were wide with the shock that he would say all that. Caroline never thought she would get an apology like that from him and she thought they'd covered that before he left Mystic Falls. She didn't want him to feel guilty about it as she was truly over it and she wanted to be his friend. She walked up to him and hugged him. That surprised him but he hugged her back.

"There are worse fates than being like you." She said and he held her tighter.

"I'm glad you came." Damon said and she smiled over his shoulder.

"Me too." She replied then let go of him. "Did you really get me a present?" She asked curiously and Damon chuckled then took the three boxes out of his pocket. "Three?" She asked surprised.

"These two are 'I'm sorry' presents so you have physical proof that I apologised." He smirked and she giggled. "The other one is just because I care about you so when I'm being an ass you'll know I don't really mean it." Damon said and she smiled. She opened the two 'I'm sorry' boxes which revealed the turquoise necklace and matching bracelet then the other one to reveal the earrings. She loved all three and hugged him.

"I love them." She said when she pulled away.

* * *

><p>Damon went back down to the bar and sat next to Ric. They had a few drinks and Caroline joined them half an hour later and Ric noticed her wearing the bracelet but didn't comment. He was glad that Damon went to apologise to her properly. The three of them went out to a club and drank and both men danced Caroline off her feet. They got back to the hotel late and Damon walked Caroline to her door since their rooms were on the same floor.<p>

"So what happens in the morning? Will you come wake me?" She asked Damon when she opened her door.

"No. Just sleep until you wake up. Ric and I normally meet in the lobby or in the restaurant for breakfast. We'll wait for you, don't worry." He smirked.

"I had fun tonight." She smiled.

"Me too. Night, Barbie." He said then kissed her cheek.

"Night, Damon." She said happily then went into her room. Damon darted up to Ric's room as soon as she closed the door. He knocked on the door and Ric opened moments later.

"Round 2?" Damon asked with a smirk and Ric chuckled. He knew Damon would be at his door.

"Wouldn't it technically be round 3?" Ric asked and Damon chuckled.

"Yes or no, Saltzman." Damon said amused. Ric grabbed Damon by the shirt and pulled him into the room, shocking Damon, then closed the door behind him. Damon crashed his lips to Ric's and the two of them stumbled over to the bed without breaking their kiss. Damon landed on top of Alaric when they finally made it to the bed and he unbuttoned Ric's shirt at vampire speed.

"Show off." Ric mumbled and Damon chuckled.

"I can show off if you want me to." Damon smirked.

"How?" Ric cocked an eyebrow and Damon grinned then got off Alaric and stood up. Damon undressed himself completely at vampire speed and was back on top of Ric completely naked in about a second and a half. "Half the fun is taking it off, Damon." Ric chuckled though he loved seeing vampire speed and strength. He thought it was very cool.

"Well, I'm not putting it all back on." Damon smirked and Ric rolled his eyes then kissed Damon again. Damon got Ric's shirt off and tossed it on the floor then unbuttoned Ric's jeans and tugged at them too. Damon hadn't been drunk the first time but he was this time so he wasn't nervous like he'd been the night before. Ric noticed that Damon was different this time and he figured it was liquid courage.

"Grab my wallet." Ric said to Damon and he took Ric's wallet out from the jeans that were on the floor then handed it over to him. Damon was flush against him and they were both hard. Ric fumbled with the wallet then took out his little bottle of lube... only to find it practically empty. "Great." Ric muttered. Damon wasn't shy because he was seriously drunk so he kissed down Ric's neck and started to nibble on the pulse point a little and Ric shivered a little in pleasure.

"Is that the only thing you like?" Damon asked against his neck.

"What do you mean?" Ric asked confused.

"I mean is screwing the only thing you like." Damon said as he continued his little path down Ric's chest.

"Well... no... but..." Ric said shakily as Damon flicked his tongue over his nipple.

"You said a few days ago to do what I like done, right?" Damon asked against Ric's skin.

"Yeah." Ric said and Damon smirked as Ric shuddered in anticipation of whatever Damon had in mind. Damon continued down Ric's stomach and Ric was kind of shocked at what Damon was clearly about to do but he didn't comment because he was too looking forward to it. Then without notice, at vampire speed Damon moved from Ric's stomach to his cock and swallowed him down in one move and Ric gasped. "Fuck." Ric groaned and Damon smirked around him. Damon had been getting head from girls for over 100 years so he had a pretty good idea of what to do. He swirled his tongue and bobbed and it really wasn't weird like he thought it would be. Because he was a vampire, he had no gag reflex anymore so he deep throated Ric and Ric's eyes nearly bulged out of his head with that move. Damon was watching Ric's reactions and chuckled a little causing a vibration around Ric's cock and that added to the sensations. Once Damon got the hang of what he was doing, he decided to really show off - so he went at vampire speed. Ric slapped a hand over his mouth as he groaned _loudly_ and as always, Damon loved watching his bed partners turn into mush from pleasure and it was especially enjoyable for him this time considering it was the first time he'd ever done this. Ric felt like he might die from a pleasure overdose and soon it was too much for him. "I'm going to cum." Ric sputtered and Damon chuckled and kept going and seconds later Ric was writhing and shaking and he came forcefully and Damon swallowed it down. He rode out Ric's orgasm then crawled back up the bed and leaned on his elbow with a self-satisfied smirk plastered on his face. "I kind of hate you right now." Ric muttered and Damon laughed. He hadn't been expecting that response.

"Why?" Damon asked surprised.

"Because you've just ruined head for me from anyone else." Ric said and Damon laughed then grinned. He was so glad that Ric obviously enjoyed it.

"So it was good?" Damon asked happily.

"You could say that." Ric said wryly and Damon laughed again. "I think I need a cigarette." Ric said and Damon shook with laughter.

"I have been told that I have a gifted mouth before." Damon winked and Ric chuckled.

"You do." Ric agreed and Damon smirked. "But I'm human so I need a minute." Ric said and Damon chuckled.

"That's alright." Damon said and Ric could see that Damon was just really happy that he'd managed to do so well on the first time. "After you turn you'll see how much fun vamp on vamp is." Damon smirked.

"Is it better?" Ric asked curiously.

"You don't have to worry about hurting a human accidentally." Damon shrugged. "It's a little different for me because I'm so used to sex with humans so it's not difficult for me to control myself."

"Is it normally?" Ric asked surprised.

"Yeah." Damon nodded. "Like take Stefan for example, before Elena, he hardly ever slept with humans. All his girlfriends have been vampires before her." Damon said. "Because he can bite them."

"What would happen if he bit Elena during sex?" Ric asked curiously.

"He'd kill her." Damon shrugged.

"Isn't that really risky then?" Ric asked concerned and Damon nodded.

"Yeah. It's kind of weird because Ripper Stefan can control himself like that. Stefan can have sex with humans, bite them and not kill them when he's Ripper Stefan." Damon said.

"So he _can_ control himself on human blood. He just doesn't want to stop. Is that what you're saying?" Ric asked and Damon nodded.

"He could control himself if he wanted to. But remember that feeling I told you about when we kill someone by draining them?" Damon asked and Ric nodded. "That's the feeling he's addicted to. It's not the blood itself."

"How is it different for you?" Ric asked curiously.

"Because Stefan will kill one person then when the amazing feeling fades, he's consumed with guilt so he kills again to get the feeling back until he's consumed with guilt again and so on. Then after a few bodies he can't cope and turns it off. I don't get consumed with guilt to the point I want to turn it off. If I make a conscious decision to kill someone, I made a choice and have to live with it. Stefan can't see it like that." Damon explained. "Because Stefan never makes a conscious decision to kill someone, he just doesn't stop when the heartbeat slows." Damon said.

"Is that when you usually stop?" Ric asked curiously and Damon shook his head.

"It depends." Damon shrugged. "It depends if I'm feeding or if it's sexual. If I'm feeding I stop when the heart slows but if it's sexual I only take like a mouthful or two." Damon said.

"What about when you had your emotions off?" Ric asked.

"Life is just instinct like that. If it's inconvenient to kill someone you don't, if it is convenient and you want to, you do. The difference between Stefan and I with our emotions off is I love physical pleasure whereas he loves the kill. So with my emotions off I just had sex all the time whereas Stefan kills all the time. It just depends on the vampire." Damon explained and Ric nodded as he thought about that.

"Can I ask a hypothetical?" Ric asked and Damon chuckled.

"Sure." Damon smirked.

"If you turn me after Klaus, if I accidentally killed someone, would I want to turn it off or does it happen automatically?" Ric asked.

"It depends on you. If you're guilt ridden over it the temptation to turn it off might appeal to you. If somehow you can see it as an accident and move on from it then you won't turn it off." Damon explained. "The thing with Stefan was, he was always very dramatic. I don't mean to sound like a dick but it's true. When we were human if he was a tiny bit upset over something, it would be the end of the world and he'd cry and life was just over." Damon chuckled. "So when he killed our father, that dramatic part of him took over because everything is intensified and he just couldn't deal with the fact he'd killed our father so he turned it off straight away instead of accepting that it was an accident. He had no control over his body at the time. It's not like he went there to purposely kill the guy but he couldn't see it like that."

"What happened after that?" Ric asked.

"He went and got a girl, bit into her neck and forced me to transition. I'd decided to die but he wouldn't let me." Damon said and Ric was surprised. "After that he dragged me around for a while and forced blood down my throat while he was killing everything in sight. I'd been starving myself which was stupid because I couldn't get away from him when I was so weak but whatever, it's done now. I used to escape from him but he always found me. Then one day I just couldn't take it anymore. I turned my emotions off, fed, kicked his ass then took off." Damon explained. "He decimated the founding families in Mystic Falls. It's kind of nuts how many of Elena's ancestors he killed and it didn't seem to bother her one bit when she found the journals that talked about Stefan." Damon shrugged. "He killed all of our remaining family members except one of my father's brothers who I hid. Then Stefan went nuts at me for killing Zach who tried to kill me first." Damon rolled his eyes.

"I think it's nuts that Stefan acts like he's innocent and you're some kind of evil demon." Ric said bluntly. After hearing all of that, he was beginning to understand why Damon was the way he was. Damon smiled at him for that comment.

"I can be an evil demon, Ric." Damon smirked. "He just forgets that he can be too."

"I might not always understand the reasons behind the things that you do, but you're never evil, Damon." Ric said sincerely and Damon smiled.

"So you don't think I'm damned regardless?" Damon asked and Ric chuckled.

"I don't believe in all that crap." Ric said and Damon smirked. "I don't believe in heaven and hell or that someone judges your actions when you die." Ric shook his head. "If there is a God and he put everything on the earth, then he put vampires on the earth too. What makes human beings untouchable? Just because we control most of the earth? That is just too egotistical." Ric said and Damon laughed.

"You sound very logical when you say stuff like that." Damon said fondly. "Is there anything I could tell you that you would find unforgivable?" Damon asked him softly.

"Yeah, but you wouldn't do the things I would find unforgivable." Ric countered.

"You know I've killed people." Damon said and Ric nodded.

"I've seen you kill people." Ric agreed. "Hurting kids is probably the most unforgivable thing."

"Apart from the boy my platoon shot, I've never hurt or killed a child." Damon said.

"I know. I didn't think you would." Ric countered.

"412." Damon said.

"What?" Ric asked confused.

"You wanted to know how many people I killed. 412." Damon said and Ric blinked in surprise that Damon would admit that to him. Damon was gauging his reaction to that.

"I would have thought it was higher actually." Ric said surprised and Damon shrugged.

"I mainly only killed when I felt the rage. I was kind of laid back and unconcerned about it all the rest of the time." He said.

"I take it Stefan's is much higher than that." Ric said and Damon chuckled.

"Stefan's was probably higher than that after his first year of being a vampire." Damon said and Ric's jaw dropped.

"His first year?" Ric asked in disbelief and Damon nodded.

"When he was dragging me around he was killing anywhere between about 4 and about 10 people a day." Damon said. "The most I ever saw him kill in one day was 17 but I know he's killed more than that."

"17 people? In one day?" Ric asked shocked and Damon nodded.

"At the time it was easy to get away with it because the war was going on. He used to sneak into the camps and kill all the wounded soldiers." Damon said. "Stefan had a thing about killing soldiers. Soldiers and married women. He wasn't interested in young single women, he only killed married women." Damon said.

"Why?" Ric asked surprised.

"I think on a subconscious level, it was to do with his fiancé that Katherine killed and me. Because he never got to have a wife and if I hadn't gone to the war, neither of us would have gotten caught up with Katherine." Damon shrugged.

"Why not?" Ric asked.

"Stefan and I were going to go up North after he got married but he waited to get married so that I could be at the wedding. So if I hadn't gone to the war, Stefan would have gotten married then the three of us would have left Mystic Falls and gone to the North. We were going to get jobs. I was going to be an architect because that's what I did at university and Stefan was going to be a teacher. His wife would take care of their children and I was going to marry someone interesting because Stefan was nagging me to get married too." Damon chuckled. "God, how boring." Damon said amused. "Boring might have been nice though." He admitted and Ric was a little surprised at that.

"You regret it?" Ric asked softly and Damon chuckled.

"No." Damon shook his head. "Being a vampire has been one hell of a ride." He smirked. "There's a small part of me that wonders what the family life would have been like but who knows? In 50 years things could be different." He chuckled.

"Did you want kids?" Ric asked curiously and Damon smiled.

"Yeah. I wanted lots of them. Stefan just wanted two boys so they'd be like us but I wanted like five or six kids running around driving their mother crazy." Damon laughed.

"I can imagine you being good with kids actually." Ric nodded amused.

"It wouldn't have worked though." Damon chuckled. "I've never been all that good with responsibility. I would have ended up staying home to play with the kids instead of going to work because that would have been boring." Damon smirked and Ric laughed. Yeah, he could see that. "You know, if you really are serious about becoming a vampire, you should freeze some of your men in case you ever want kids." Damon said to Ric and Ric was seriously surprised at that. "You might not want them now, but in twenty years you could change your mind then it won't be possible." Damon said.

"Yeah, I guess I could do that." Ric nodded. "Would you have done that if you could have?" Ric asked.

"Ric, in all honesty..." Damon said. "If I could find a way to get that to work, I'd have kids now." Damon admitted and Ric's jaw dropped. "Well, obviously after we get Stefan away from Klaus." Damon smirked. "When I was human, the only reason I was going to get married was to have children. I wasn't interested in the wife part but I wanted kids." He said. "But back then you couldn't just decide to have kids without getting married."

"There must be a way, Damon." Ric said surprising Damon. "So much can be done with magic, I'd think getting a vampire to be able to procreate would be easy compared to some of the things we've seen." Ric pointed out. "Tell you what? After Klaus is dead and Stefan's back, I'll help you look. We can find witches or shamans and do favours for them and stuff and maybe someone will have a way. Besides, it would probably come in handy to be in a few witches' favour since Bonnie won't ever help." Ric smirked and Damon chuckled.

"Seriously?" Damon asked with a smile.

"It'll give us something to do." Ric said and the two of them laughed a little.

"Thank you." Damon said sincerely. He was so grateful to Ric in that moment.

"You're welcome." Ric smirked. "We talk about a lot of weird stuff when we're naked." Ric pointed out and Damon laughed. He rolled over on top of Ric then and Ric put his arms around Damon's back.

"Think you're human minute is over now?" Damon asked amused and Ric chuckled.

"Yeah." Ric said then Damon kissed him. Ric deepened the kiss right away and their tongues mingled softly. It was a different kind of kiss than they'd had earlier and both were kind of surprised at that but they didn't stop either. Damon was hard in seconds and Ric followed then Damon rolled them over so that Ric was on top of him. Damon opened his legs a little so that Ric was between them. "I don't have any lube left." Ric said to Damon and he shrugged.

"Use saliva then." Damon said.

"It doesn't work as well." Ric said sceptically and Damon chuckled.

"I've been shot with wooden bullets, staked, stabbed, tortured and set on fire... I'm not really that worried about it." Damon said amused and Ric laughed and rolled his eyes.

"You have such a way with words." Ric said amused.

"It's nice that you're concerned but don't be. Supernatural healing remember?" Damon smirked and Ric chuckled.

"Fine." Ric said. He lathered himself up with saliva then leaned back down to kiss Damon. He stroked Damon's cock expertly as he started to push in. Damon noticed the difference but didn't say anything or act like it bothered him at all, though it did sting a bit. In no time Ric was fully in and he hit the spot and Damon forgot all about the sting. Ric kept kissing Damon and Damon was enjoying the kiss so much he reached up with his hand and cupped Ric's cheek with one hand as he held his back with the other. Ric was a little surprised at the gesture but he liked it so didn't say anything about it. This time things were kind of different. Ric noticed a difference in Damon's behaviour. He was more comfortable, he moved along with Ric now that he knew what was happening... He noticed that it wasn't like they were just screwing. He didn't know what to think of that really but he pushed it out of his mind and concentrated on making it as good as possible. Damon decided that he was not going to bite Ric this time. So he focused entirely on the physical sensations instead of his hunger and his face didn't even change. Ric felt Damon's legs shake a little and he knew what was coming but Damon didn't stop kissing him. Damon came shortly after that and he moaned against Ric's mouth. Ric came too then slumped on top of Damon. A minute later he rolled to the side.

"That was awesome." Damon panted a little.

"You didn't bite me." Ric said a little surprised and Damon shrugged.

"Didn't feel like it." He replied.

"You said last night that it felt unfinished if you didn't." Ric said and Damon nodded.

"It normally does but I tried something different this time and it doesn't feel unfinished." Damon smirked.

"Have you fed today?" Ric asked curiously.

"No, why?" Damon asked.

"You're supposed to be healing yourself." Ric replied and Damon chuckled.

"Fine, if it makes you sleep easier, I'll go on a rampage in the morning." Damon winked and Ric laughed.

"Can I ask you something? I meant to ask last night but I forgot." Ric said and Damon nodded. "Did my blood taste different to you?" Ric asked.

"Actually... yeah. Why is that?" Damon asked curiously. He'd forgotten about that.

"What made it different?" Ric asked.

"It just tasted... richer?" Damon said and Ric chuckled.

"Figures." Ric said amused.

"Why?" Damon asked.

"Well, I have a blood condition." Ric said. Damon looked a little stunned at that.

"What kind of blood condition?" Damon asked a little concerned.

"I'm probably a vampire's dream, actually." Ric laughed. "I have polycythemia. My body produces too much blood with high levels of haemoglobin." He said and Damon's jaw dropped.

"Seriously?" Damon asked shocked and Ric chuckled.

"That's why I told you it doesn't bother me if you bite me because otherwise I have to go find a doctor every week or so to get some blood removed." Ric said and Damon looked truly stunned. "I start to feel unwell if it goes too long."

"You do realise you just told a vampire that, right?" Damon asked him and Ric laughed.

"Well, wouldn't you rather have it than it going to waste by being thrown out by a doctor?" Ric asked amused.

"Yeah, obviously." Damon replied with a smirk.

"You healed me last night so I can feel that I'm at the point that it needs to be taken." Ric said and Damon looked surprised.

"Is that... uncomfortable?" Damon asked curiously and Ric nodded.

"Yeah, it feels a bit like there's too much pressure pushing out from under the skin. If it goes too long I get fevers and headaches and I can't sleep. It's really crap." Ric said. "So if you want some, go ahead." Ric added.

"But what about the bite mark?" Damon asked sceptically.

"Just do it on my shoulder or whatever then clothes will cover it." Ric shrugged.

"How much do you usually get taken from you when you go to a doctor?" Damon asked.

"It depends. A regular man of my height and weight has about 6.5 quarts of blood in their body and at my highest I've had 11.5." Ric said and Damon was shocked. "So it depends how much I have at the time but usually about two pints every week to ten days." Ric said.

"That's quite a lot." Damon said surprised. "My blood bags are only half a pint each." Damon said.

"Yeah, but I produce so many red blood cells that it has to be done. If I leave it for too long it can have serious repercussions." Ric shrugged. "The most I've ever had taken was four pints and that was that time I had 11.5 quarts of blood in my body. The doctor was freaking out." Ric chuckled.

"Well, how much do you want me to take?" Damon asked.

"Because of how I've been feeling all day with it, I'm guessing it's pretty high, so take the two pints." Ric shrugged. Damon's eyes were kind of wide at that as that was quite a lot.

"Are you sure?" Damon asked sceptically.

"It's that or I need to go find a doctor tomorrow so stop being a dick or I'll have a crap sleep." Ric smirked and Damon chuckled.

"Fine, face away from me then." Damon said. Ric turned his back on Damon then he felt Damon move behind him. Damon put his arm over Ric's waist then he licked and sucked on Ric's shoulder blade. He bit down gently and started to draw Ric's blood out slowly. He'd been too caught up the night before to notice but he had to admit Ric's blood was _incredible_. It was so rich and because of the high haemoglobin, Damon could taste how nutritious it was for him. After he'd taken a pint he pulled away. "I've taken around a pint, you alright?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Keep going." Ric said. Honestly, he didn't feel any different yet. That and the way Damon was doing it felt amazing. Damon went back to the wound he'd made and started to drink again. He was kind of shocked that he couldn't hear Ric's heartbeat changing at all. After this much it would normally have slowed even if it was just marginally. "How much do you normally take when you feed?" Ric asked curiously.

"Depends but about a pint probably. Just until the heartbeat slows, whenever that is." Damon said then went back to the wound.

"Just do that then." Ric said.

"Ric, I've taken nearly two pints and your heartbeat hasn't slowed yet." Damon said sceptically.

"Then it must be high again. I haven't had my blood taken from a doctor for like two weeks." He said. "Just keep going, it's fine." Ric said. Damon wasn't sure about this but he did it anyway. He went back to the wound and started to drink again. Ric's heartbeat finally slowed a little when he neared the three pint mark so he stopped. He was worried about Ric though, even though he himself felt fucking fantastic.

"I really took a lot, Ric." Damon said concerned.

"I still feel totally fine, Damon." Ric said. "Don't worry, I've been dealing with this since I was a teenager. It might actually be good for you because of the haemoglobin levels." Ric pointed out.

"Uh... well... I feel kind of... awesome." Damon said and Ric chuckled.

"That's good." Ric nodded. "Kind of works out, don't you think?" Ric asked amused. "You need it and I need to get rid of it." He said.

"Yeah, but isn't there any other way to stop this from happening? You said that there can be serious repercussions." Damon said.

"They tried doing chemotherapy but it didn't work so bloodletting is the only thing I can do, really." Ric said. "The most serious things that can happen are like blood clots among other things but as long as I don't let it go too long, I'm fine." Ric said. He was quite touched that Damon seemed a little worried about him.

"Is this genetic?" Damon asked curiously.

"Yeah." Ric nodded. "I got it from my mother." He said and Damon felt his heart clench a little because he knew the next thing Ric was going to say... "That's how she died." Ric said. Damon was quiet for a moment as he contemplated that.

"Well, you're just going to have to always have my blood in your system then." Damon said seriously. Ric was a little stunned at that.

"What?" Ric asked surprised.

"Regardless of whatever the hell else is going on between us, you're still my best friend and I'm not going to lose you to some stupid blood disease." Damon said bluntly and Ric's eyes widened a little in surprise that Damon would just hit out with all of that.

"Don't worry so much. It's not like I'm dying, Damon. I just need to have my blood removed sometimes. It's not a big deal." Ric said.

"It clearly is a big deal if your mom died from it." Damon pointed out.

"Yeah, but that was like 17 years ago, Damon. They know how to keep an eye on it now." Ric said.

"Are you keeping an eye on it?" Damon asked him seriously.

"Yes." Ric nodded. "I know how it feels when it needs to be taken."

"Well, how often do you need to go see a doctor? We've been gone for like a week and if you said that you haven't had your blood taken for two weeks, don't you need to go see a doctor and get checked?" Damon asked.

"You just took my blood so I don't need to go see a doctor." Ric shrugged and Damon narrowed his eyes at him.

"I'm not above compelling you to tell me the truth, you know." Damon warned and Ric chuckled.

"Stop worrying. I'll forget your Damon Salvatore if you keep this up." Ric teased and Damon rolled his eyes.

"Ric." Damon said annoyed.

"I swear. I only get tests done every few months. At appointments all they do is take the blood. That's it." Ric said. "I had a full check up like a month ago and I'm totally fine. Don't need to go for another one for two or three months." He said.

"You'll be a vampire by then anyway." Damon muttered and Ric chuckled.

"Exactly, so what are you so worried about?" Ric smirked.

"But what if I die?" Damon asked him seriously.

"What do you mean if you die?" Ric asked confused.

"Then you'll need to get Barbie to turn you." Damon pointed out.

"I don't think I would turn if you died." Ric admitted and Damon's jaw dropped.

"Why?" Damon asked stunned.

"I just don't think there would be any point to it if you weren't around." Ric said and Damon blinked in surprise. That was possibly the nicest thing anyone had ever said to him.

"Think about it anyway. Can you imagine leaving Caroline to fend for herself?" Damon asked and Ric thought about that.

"I guess." He conceded. "Just don't die and that won't matter." Ric countered and Damon chuckled.

"I'll do my best." Damon smirked.


	8. Lubbock, TX

I don't own The Vampire Diaries. If I did, Damon wouldn't have become a total defanged Elena doormat.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry it took me so long to update this. Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon :)**

* * *

><p>Unlikely<p>

Chapter 8

* * *

><p>Ric's eyes fluttered open and all he saw was neck. He closed his eyes for a second to allow himself to wake up then he opened his eyes again and he saw that familiar raven hair, pale neck, pale muscular shoulders. That's when he realised that he was lying behind Damon with his arm around the vampire's waist cuddled into his back. Ric felt like he should probably be embarrassed but after the night before, cuddling didn't seem as embarrassing with Damon – as weird as that was. They'd talked and slept together and it was just so easy with Damon. Ric felt like he was seeing a whole new side to Damon. He did take his arm back though then rolled onto his back and stretched then he saw Damon stir. He figured the movement must have woken him by moving his arm.<p>

Damon rolled over to face him and the way he moved left their faces only inches from each other's. Their eyes locked and Ric couldn't really help himself so he leaned forward and kissed him. Damon seemed mildly surprised but went with it and kissed him back. Ric reached out and put his hand on Damon's ribs while Damon pulled him a little closer without breaking their kiss. Damon was even more surprised when Ric pulled Damon on top of him. He kissed down Ric's cheek to his neck and playfully bit his neck without breaking the skin and Ric groaned a little.

"Morning." Damon mumbled against Ric's neck.

"Morning." Ric replied from underneath him. Damon felt Ric's hardness pressed against him so he moved a little until he was between Ric's legs and he positioned himself so that his cock touched Ric's then he moved forward then back and Ric moaned a little at the new sensation to his cock.

"How'd you sleep?" Damon asked into his neck and Ric rubbed down Damon's sides loving the way the cool skin shivered beneath his touches. Ric figured he was talking about the blood loss and in all honesty, he felt great.

"Like a log." Ric replied and Damon let out a small chuckle then trailed his tongue up Ric's neck until his face was hovering above Ric's. Damon took in Ric's lustful expression and he couldn't help a small smirk. He loved the fact that despite Ric's claims that he wasn't Ric's type, Ric clearly wanted him. He leaned down and kissed him and Ric responded immediately and kissed him back. Ric's hand trailed from Damon's side down his stomach and Damon moaned a little into Ric's mouth when Ric took hold of his cock. He stroked while they kissed and though Damon was still kind of unsure of how to do all of this with a guy, with Ric that didn't seem to matter much. Damon saw where it was headed and went to flip their positions. "No." Ric said and Damon looked at him quizzically. "You do it this time." Ric said and Damon looked surprised. His stomach fluttered a little at the fact Ric was trusting him with that.

"But you said there isn't any lube left." Damon pointed out and Ric shrugged.

"Can't you use your blood then bite me?" Ric asked and Damon looked even more surprised.

"Are you sure?" Damon asked him and Ric nodded. Damon went up on his knees then bit into his wrist and lathered himself up with blood. Ric watched his beautiful face turn vampiric and he couldn't help finding him even more attractive like that. Damon leaned back over him and gently hitched Ric's legs at his sides. Damon was pleased to see that Ric didn't look remotely nervous about what was about to happen. He leaned down and kissed him again and Ric deepened it while Damon lined himself up. Ric wasn't nervous which surprised him. He hadn't done this for years purposely because of his last bad experience. He just knew that Damon wouldn't hurt him.

Damon gently pushed in and Ric tried to relax as much as possible. Damon couldn't help the small groan escaping at the tightness around him as he gently slid inside. Ric had forgotten the feeling and it was a bit uncomfortable at first but it went away seconds later and he figured it was the effects of Damon's blood. Damon gave him a few moments to adjust to his size then he pulled back and lazily thrust back in. He was keeping things slow and soft because he knew that Ric's last experience was too hard and rough and he didn't want Ric to think it would be like that with him. Damon thought over how Ric had positioned himself then moved a little, pulled back and thrust in and Ric moaned into his mouth and Damon was pleased he'd found it.

"You alright?" Damon mumbled against his lips.

"I'm fine. You can go faster." Ric smirked and Damon realised that Ric knew what he was doing. Damon nodded then went back to kissing him and he sped up just a little earning a moan from Ric. Damon took Ric's cock in his hand and started to pump him while he thrust and Ric bit his lip so he wouldn't yell out in pleasure. Damon saw on Ric's face that he wasn't going to last much longer so he allowed his own build up. He thrust and pumped and kissed and Ric felt like he was turning into mush. Ric knew he was close and he could feel that Damon was close so he turned his head to the side baring his neck a little though he wanted to watch Damon's face change so he kept his eyes trained on Damon's face.

Damon's face changed and Ric was seconds away. He knew the instant Damon's fangs entered his skin, he'd be done. Damon leaned down and sucked on Ric's neck and Ric's eyes closed in pleasure. Just as Ric reached his peak, Damon sunk his fangs into his neck and the two of them came loudly as they writhed against each other. Damon pulled his fangs out of Ric's neck after he'd slumped against him then he lazily licked the two small wounds and finally pulled out of him and rolled to his side. Ric felt pretty incoherent after that. Damon turned on his side to face Ric and Ric did the same as he pulled the covers up over them.

"That was amazing." Ric said after a few minutes and Damon smiled then leaned forward and kissed him. Ric kissed him back and put one arm over his side. Damon pulled back and gave him an amused smirk.

"Have to say, Ric, you're little logical speech seems to have gone right out the window." Damon said and Ric looked at him confused.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"This clearly is a 'thing' now." Damon replied and Ric understood what he meant and nodded.

"I know." He agreed then pulled Damon a little closer. Damon put his hand on Ric's hip as he looked at him in curiosity. "It's just so easy with you." Ric said.

"Easy?" Damon asked.

"There's no bullshit. I can be myself and we have a lot in common." Ric replied and Damon nodded in understanding.

"Does this feel normal to you?" Damon asked.

"What do you mean by normal?" Ric asked confused.

"Not normal, that's the wrong word... just..." Damon said as he thought of the word. "Like... right?" He asked and Ric was a little surprised at him saying something like that and was even more surprised to see a little nervousness on Damon's face. He had to admit, he'd never had anything that felt so comfortable as this did. He'd been wary of Damon at first but when he finally let him in, it _did _feel right. Almost like it was meant to be that way.

"It does." Ric agreed and Damon smiled. He leaned in again and kissed Ric then Ric deepened it and their tongues graze each other.

"So... how'd I do?" Damon asked against his mouth.

"Best ever." Ric replied in a mumble and Damon smiled.

"So it didn't hurt?" Damon asked and Ric understood that Damon was making sure he hadn't been too rough.

"Only for like one second but then your blood must have fixed it because there was no pain after that." Ric replied and he saw the relief on Damon's face.

"Good." Damon replied.

"We're going to have to get ready and go meet Caroline. We can't leave her sitting around alone waiting for us." Ric said and Damon nodded.

"I'll go back to my room and get a shower then. I'll go down and get coffee afterwards." Damon replied.

"Alright." Ric replied then in a blink Damon wasn't lying next to him anymore. Ric turned around and saw Damon buttoning up his shirt and his jeans were already on. "Show off." Ric said and Damon chuckled.

"Maybe, but I think you like it." Damon replied amused.

"I might." Ric chuckled as he sat up. Damon pulled his boots on then walked back over to the bed.

"Later, Ric." Damon said then leaned down and pecked him on the lips and in a blink he was gone. Ric couldn't help the small smile on his face as he got out of bed and went into the bathroom.

* * *

><p>Damon showered then got dressed, grabbed his stuff then went downstairs to the hotel restaurant. He walked in and spotted Caroline sitting at a table reading a magazine with a cup of coffee.<p>

"Morning." Damon said and she looked up at him and smiled.

"Morning. Sleep well?" She asked and he chuckled.

"I did. What the hell are you reading?" He asked as he sat down next to her.

"Just some gossip trashy magazine that was lying on the table when I got here." She shrugged as she set it down. "Where's next on the trip?" She asked.

"Lubbock." Damon replied.

"So, you two haven't been doing any sightseeing or anything?" She asked curiously.

"Is there something in Dallas that you want to see?" He asked.

"Nothing in particular." She shrugged.

"Tell you what, Caroline." He smirked. "After Klaus, Ric and I will take you anywhere you want to go." He replied and she smiled surprised. "But unfortunately, right now we have to keep going." He said and she nodded.

"Okay, that's fine." She smiled.

"Though, we're staying two nights in Vegas so we can take you to a show one night." He smirked and she grinned.

"That's so exciting." She said happily and he smiled knowing Ric had been right. Just then the server came over. "Think I might get some food." She said to herself looking at the menu.

"What can I get you both?" The woman smiled.

"I'll have a black coffee and the full breakfast and the wife will have..." Damon looked at Caroline who chuckled at the wife comment.

"The chocolate chip pancakes and an orange juice, please." She smiled.

"I'll get those over to you." The woman smiled as she wrote that down.

"Thanks." Caroline smiled then the woman left. "Wife?" She asked him amused and Damon chuckled.

"I don't know. Keep calling you that." He shrugged and she chuckled and remembered him asking if they'd gotten married and he was too drunk to remember. She gathered that's where he got it from.

* * *

><p>"You want to go <em>where<em>?" Damon asked Ric sceptically and in a little bit of disbelief.

"The Buddy Holly Centre." Ric repeated from where he sat in the backseat.

"Why?" Damon asked confused.

"It's got the Texas Musicians Hall of Fame and it's no doubt very interesting." Ric replied.

"Dude was a total geek, Ric." Damon replied and they both chuckled.

"So, I'll just go by myself then." Ric shrugged.

"I'll go with you." Caroline said and Ric smiled at her for being so nice.

"What am I supposed to do while you're both off at a geek shrine?" Damon asked with a huff and they chuckled.

"What did you do for a century and a half without us?" Caroline teased and Damon rolled his eyes.

"Fine. I'll just go find somewhere to drink then." Damon muttered.

"We should go out to some real Texan restaurant tonight." Ric replied.

* * *

><p>Caroline and Ric went to the Buddy Holly museum and Damon went and found them a hotel while they did that. He got two rooms since the hotel was fully booked though one room had two beds so it made for a good excuse to Caroline since neither he or Ric wanted her to know about their little 'thing' yet.<p>

He picked them up then they went into town to the Double Nickel Steak House advertised as one of the top ten steaks in Texas which appealed to Ric. Ric ordered the rib-eye steak, Damon ordered the filet mignon and Caroline ordered the stuffed chicken medallions and they all thoroughly enjoyed their food. After dinner they were heading to a cocktail bar called The Gas Light. Damon parked the car down the street then the three of them walked up there when two men suddenly were standing in front of them. Damon instinctively took a step forward to put himself between them and Ric and Caroline.

"You're in our area." One man said allowing his true face to show. Damon's face came out too. This wasn't the first time he'd been in an altercation with other vampires about 'turf' and he knew the rules of the game. Caroline felt a twinge of fear at the sight of the two vampires.

"Just passing through." Damon replied.

"You'll need to get permission before you stay here." The other said to him and Damon scoffed.

"It's one night and we'll be gone tomorrow so you can shove your permission." Damon replied and Ric wanted to roll his eyes at Damon's inability to talk things through.

"That's the rules." The first one said.

"Or what?" Damon asked him deadpan.

"Or we could just take your human and your baby vamp." The other replied amused.

"Try it." Damon replied dangerously.

"Two of us and one of you." The first one said and Damon smirked.

"But I only need two hands, don't I?" Damon asked darkly and they looked at him confused until both Damon's hands shot out at lightning speed and pulled their hearts from their chests and they looked shocked as they fell to the ground. Ric and Caroline gasped at how fast that happened. Damon looked around the street and saw that nobody witnessed anything then he stuffed their hearts back into their chests and picked them up and in a blink he was gone.

"What the hell just happened?" Ric asked Caroline in disbelief. Caroline turned around and saw Damon down the street shoving the two vampires into the trunk of his car and she motioned for Ric to look and he saw it. He was back seconds later. "Explain." Ric said to Damon seriously.

"Some vampires get all territorial about their 'turf'." Damon said doing air quotations.

"You need to wash your hands, Damon." Caroline said and he nodded.

"We should probably go back to the hotel. If we were spotted earlier and they were sent to warn us, others could get suspicious if they don't come back." Damon said.

"Why did you kill them?" Ric asked confused and Damon looked at him in disbelief.

"Ric, their threat to take you two, that wasn't idle. They would have done it, you'd be drained dry, Caroline would no doubt be staked for being so new, so I wasn't taking any chances." Damon said and they looked at him surprised. "Now let's go." Damon added.

"What are you going to do with the bodies?" Caroline whispered as they hurried back to the car.

"Take them somewhere secluded and set them on fire." Damon shrugged. "Can't believe we were in New Orleans and nothing happened but we run into vampires in _Lubbock_." Damon muttered.

* * *

><p>Damon drove them out to an abandoned bit of land, dug a quick hole with a shovel Ric hadn't even known about then stuffed the two bodies in the whole, set them on fire and when they were decayed, he covered them back up. After that, the three of them went to the hotel. They were just parking in the guest parking lot when Caroline couldn't help it.<p>

"Damon?" She asked softly and he looked at her. "Can you stay with me? I'm nervous about those vampires now." She said and he nodded.

"We'll all stay in the same room. I haven't got a clue how many vampires are here but it would be better if we didn't split up." He replied surprising Ric. Ric understood then that it was a real issue considering he didn't think Damon particularly liked the idea of the three of them staying in the same room.

* * *

><p>The three of them went into the hotel room with the two double beds.<p>

"I'll take the couch." Damon said.

"Don't be silly, Damon. It's not a big deal, just share with me." Caroline waved her hand unconcerned then set her stuff down and Damon glanced at Alaric who smirked at him amused so Damon knew it was okay.

"If you're sure, wife." Damon smirked and they both chuckled.

* * *

><p>A couple of hours later the they were sitting on the couches drinking while watching a movie.<p>

"Where are we going tomorrow?" Caroline asked curiously.

"Santa Rosa but we're stopping off in Roswell so the history geek can go look at fake aliens." Damon replied and she giggled while Ric rolled his eyes.

"How on earth can you say fake aliens? You're a vampire. Vampires aren't supposed to exist either." Ric pointed out and Damon chuckled.

"It would be ignorant to think we're the only planet that has life but that doesn't mean I want to think about aliens. That's just creepy." Damon replied and they both laughed.

"You're creeped out by aliens?" Caroline asked amused.

"Have you _seen _those alien movies? They are way worse than vampires. I'd take Klaus over them for a confrontation any day." Damon replied and they laughed in disbelief.

"But you could kill the aliens. You can't kill Klaus." Ric pointed out.

"Ewww! I'm not touching them!" Damon replied disgusted and they buckled over with laughter.

"This is so funny." Caroline giggled.

"Considering you had your hands inside two vampires' chests earlier, how can aliens creep you out after that?" Ric asked amused.

"Simple. Ripping out hearts doesn't creep me out." Damon replied with a shrug and they laughed.

"Weirdo." Ric chuckled.

"Not really. Aliens are icky." Damon said and they were back to laughing loudly.

"Icky? You seriously just said the word _icky_?" Ric laughed.

"Have you seen Independence Day?" Damon asked him deadpan and they laughed.

"Yeah." Caroline giggled.

"Those aliens are _disgusting_ and covered in slime. That's so much worse than just some random vampire's heart." Damon replied and they laughed.

"So what would you do if aliens invaded us?" Caroline asked.

"Hide." Damon replied like it was so obvious and they buckled over laughing.

"You are so _weird._" Ric replied amused.

"Why?" Damon asked.

"You stood in front of Klaus and basically told him to fuck off but you're afraid of an _alien_?" Ric teased and Damon rolled his eyes.

"I'm not _afraid_ of aliens. They are just..." Damon shuddered and they laughed.

"Icky?" Caroline giggled.

"Yes." Damon replied and they laughed.

* * *

><p>Damon passed out next to Caroline on the side closest to Ric. Ric looked over at the sleeping vampire and he couldn't help feeling worry. Just that morning when he'd forgotten all about that side to him, Damon went and did something reckless and irresponsible. He killed those two vampires without knowing what the consequences would be. There could have been ten vampires watching in the distance for Damon's reaction.<p>

Ric wasn't sure he could deal with that side to him. Ric couldn't deal with losing someone else, especially not Damon. He watched the seemingly innocent sleeping face of the vampire he was developing such strong feelings for and his heart clenched. He couldn't fall for Damon. He couldn't let himself. He was going to have to talk to him and stop whatever it was that was happening between them because he just couldn't do it. It would hurt – but it would hurt way more if Damon got himself killed and Ric had to live without him...


End file.
